Amateur Radio and Distance Sailors
Long Haul Communications for Blue Water Yachts
Amateur radio opens many new communication windows to long distance sailors. Radio traffic nets are available assist sailboats in making their next trip a safe passage.
HF SSB Radios - Once blue water sailors are far from the sight of land, communication with a standard marine VHF radio is no longer feasible. The long haul communication tool of choice for many mariners is high frequency (HF) single side band (SSB) radio that operates in the 2 to 30 MHz frequency range. Marine radios are channelized, that is a channel number is assigned to each unique pair of transmit and receive frequencies used by the radio. Marine equipment is built to withstand the corrosive environment onboard a vessel and is simple to use.
A popular alternative to marine HF SSB radio on many sailboats is HF amateur or ham radio equipment that can operate within standard marine frequencies, as well as, the radio spectrum assigned for the use of amateur radio operators. Amateur radio equipment is typically less rugged than its marine counterparts and more complicated to operate. Both marine and amateur radio equipment require the operator attain a license from the government to legally use them. An amateur radio operator's license requires more effort to obtain than its marine cousin, but offers some additional fringe benefits for vessel safety.
A Vessel in Distress - On 4 May 2007, radio amateurs played a critical role in rescuing two Norwegian nationals on the 35-foot sailing vessel Sailabout. The S/V Sailabout was caught in 14-foot seas and 25 knot winds some 700 nautical miles southwest of the Galapagos Islands en route to Colombia. Amateur radio operators located in many diverse locations participate in traffic nets to vessel safety information. Associates of the Maritime Mobile Service Net (MMSN) and Intercontinental Net heard the S/V Sailabout's Mayday call on the net frequency 14.300 MHz.
Numerous radio operators monitored the condition and position of the S/V Sailabout and relayed information to the US Coast Guard. Coast Guard Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinators were able to forward safety information to the stricken sailors and eventually arranged for a Norwegian Freighter, the M/V Belnor, to divert to the sailboat. Crew from the S/V Sailabout were taken aboard the freighter and the sailboat was abandoned to the sea. Without the assistance of the amateur radio network, the S/V Sailabout crew could have perished unheard in the Pacific Ocean.
Benefits of Amateur Radio for Sailors - High frequency radios offer other benefits to blue water sailors. HF SSB can support facsimile transmissions, distribute electronic mail, broadcast weather forecasts, listen to world news, and allow licensed operators an opportunity to chat with family members at home. Mariners at sea can provide weather reports as part of the MARine OBservation (MAROB) of the National Weather Service. This live weather reporting helps forecasters sharpen their forecast and improve their accuracy.
Equipping a sailboat with a HF SSB radio, tuner and antenna will cost between $2,000 and $3,500. More information on ham radio and marine mobile operations can be found at the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) homepage. The ARRL can help you earn your radio license and learn how operate equipment legally.
Pacific Seafarer's Net – An example of a sailing traffic net is the Pacific Seafarer's Net that operates daily on 14.300 MHZ at 0300 UTC. Amateurs with radio stations located in the United States, Australia and New Zealand receive position and welfare reports from sailboats crossing the Pacific Ocean. The net relays messages, provides phone patches, charts participating vessel positions and assists vessels in distress. Vessels participating in the Pacific Seafarer's Net can have their postion noted in the YOTREPS or Yacht Reports System that allows others to track vessel locations globally on the internet.
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