In short
Every call is built the same way: who you are calling, who you are, which channel, "over".
Channel 16 is for calling and distress. Once you have agreed a working channel, go there.
Numbers are read digit by digit: channel 73 is "seven three", never "seventy three".
There are only a handful of procedure words: over, out, say again, roger, standing by. Nobody says "over and out".
Boat names and anything unclear go by the phonetic alphabet: Alfa, Bravo, Charlie.
MAYDAY follows a fixed template, and the DSC button goes first: the set sends your position and MMSI on its own.
How a call is built
A marine VHF is not a telephone: everyone on the channel hears you, so airtime is kept short. Hence the fixed shape.
1Who you are calling — the station's name, usually twice.
2Who you are — "this is" and the name of the boat. If the station does not know you, add the type: sailing yacht.
3Where to answer — the channel number, if you are calling on a working channel already.
4"Over" — I have finished, your turn.
A full first call sounds like this:
"Kas Marina, Kas Marina, this is sailing yacht Voone, channel seven three, over."
The marina's answer is usually brief: "Voone, Kas Marina, go ahead." After that the whole construction is unnecessary — "Kas Marina, yacht Voone, over" will do.
If nobody answers, wait about two minutes and call again. Marinas are rarely instant: there is one person on the desk and usually three other jobs on the go.
Channels: 16 and the working ones
Channel 16 is the international calling and distress channel. A listening watch is kept on it, and MAYDAY, PAN-PAN and SÉCURITÉ are announced on it. What you must not do is hold a conversation there: call, agree a channel, move.
Channel 70 is reserved for digital selective calling. No voice on it, ever.
Marina working channels vary by region. Around the Mediterranean they are most often 09, 71, 72 and 73; in the UK marinas usually sit on 80. Port control and harbour entry are typically 12 or 14. Look the number up in the pilot book, on the marina's website or on the board at the harbour entrance — do not guess it.
The switch itself is short: "Channel seven three" — "Channel seven three, Voone." Both stations then turn the knob and carry on there.
Procedure words
There are few of them, and they save airtime:
Over — I have finished this transmission and expect a reply.
Out — the exchange is finished and no reply is expected. It is never said together with "over": the two contradict each other.
Say again — repeat. You can narrow it: "say again slowly, please" or "say again all after channel".
Roger — received and understood. "Understood" does the same job.
Standing by (on channel one six) — I am listening on that channel.
Affirmative / negative — yes and no. Plain "yes" and "no" get lost in noise.
Stand by — wait, I am busy.
Speak more slowly than in conversation, and leave a beat after pressing the transmit key: the first fraction of a second is often swallowed.
The phonetic alphabet
Boat names, call signs, letters in a position — all of it is spelled out:
Alfa
Bravo
Charlie
Delta
Echo
Foxtrot
Golf
Hotel
India
Juliett
Kilo
Lima
Mike
November
Oscar
Papa
Quebec
Romeo
Sierra
Tango
Uniform
Victor
Whiskey
X-ray
Yankee
Zulu
Note the spellings: Alfa without the "ph", Juliett with two t's, X-ray hyphenated. Numbers at sea are spoken as ordinary English words — one, two, three — and a decimal point in a position is "decimal".
Script 1. Calling a marina and asking for a berth
The first call, on the marina's working channel:
"Kas Marina, Kas Marina, this is sailing yacht Voone, channel seven three, over."
Once they answer, get straight to it in short lines:
"Do you have a berth for tonight, over?"
"Two persons, 14 metres, ETA one hour."
"Length fourteen metres, draft two metres ten, beam four metres thirty."
"Stern to or alongside, over?"
"Is there a lazy line at the berth, over?"
"Can someone help us with the lines on the pontoon, over?"
A typical answer is "Berth twenty two, stern to." Read it back so that both sides are certain: "Berth twenty two, stern to, understood. Thank you, Voone out."
Reading back the key detail is not politeness but insurance. A berth number, which way round you go in and which side the lazy line is on are things that do not forgive a misunderstanding.
Script 2. Radio check
A check before departure belongs on a working channel, not on 16:
"Radio check, radio check, this is sailing yacht Voone, how do you read me, over?"
The reply will be "loud and clear", or a readability figure. "Weak but readable" means you are at the edge of range or the set is unwell — look at the aerial, the connector and the supply.
Script 3. Fuel and water
The fuel berth is usually called on the same channel as the marina:
"Kas Marina, yacht Voone, request fuel dock, over."
"Diesel, please. Not petrol." Say it out loud — the wrong one ruins an engine.
"Fill it up, about one hundred litres."
"Can we take on water here?"
"Do you have a hose and an adapter?"
An answer such as "Fuel dock is busy, wait ten minutes, over" means exactly what it says: hold off on the water and do not come alongside.
DSC and MMSI
A modern set does digital selective calling. The MMSI is a nine-digit number that identifies your ship station uniquely; it is entered into the radio and goes out automatically with every digital call. The first three digits are the country of registration.
The red button under the hinged cover is DSC DISTRESS. Hold it for about five seconds and the set broadcasts a distress alert with your MMSI and, if the radio is connected to GPS, your position. You still make the voice MAYDAY on 16 afterwards: the digital alert says who and where, the voice says what has happened.
Distress and urgency calls
PAN-PAN — urgency without immediate danger to life: engine failure, an injury, steering lost well clear of hazards.
MAYDAY — grave and imminent danger to life or to the vessel. The structure is fixed, and this is no place to improvise:
1Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.
2This is — the name of the vessel, three times.
3Mayday — the name of the vessel, with the call sign or MMSI.
4Position — in words, digit by digit, with north and east stated; or a bearing and distance from a charted feature.
5The nature of the distress — "we are taking on water", "we are on fire", "man overboard".
6Number of persons on board, yourself included.
7What you need — "we require immediate assistance".
8Over.
Then release the key and listen. If nothing comes back, repeat the whole call after two minutes, as many times as it takes. Speak slowly: being understood beats being quick, and somebody is writing this down.
Common questions
What is channel 16 for?
It is the international calling and distress channel. You call other stations on it, you announce MAYDAY, PAN-PAN and SÉCURITÉ on it, and you keep a listening watch there when the radio is otherwise idle. What you do not do is hold a conversation: agree a working channel and move.
Which channel do I call a marina on?
Its own working channel, not 16. Around the Mediterranean that is usually 09, 71, 72 or 73; in the UK, normally 80. The number is in the pilot book, on the marina's website and often on a board at the harbour entrance.
How do I test the radio before leaving?
On a working channel, say: "Radio check, this is sailing yacht Voone, how do you read me, over?" A reply of "loud and clear" means all is well. Radio checks do not belong on channel 16.
What is an MMSI and why does a yacht need one?
It is the nine-digit identity of your ship station. It goes out automatically with a digital call, so a rescue centre sees at once who is calling, and the first three digits give the country of registration. Without an MMSI entered, the DSC button cannot do its job properly.
What do I say if I did not understand the reply?
"Say again slowly, please." It is an ordinary phrase and professionals use it constantly. Asking three times is better than guessing once and going to the wrong pontoon.
Where to go next
Ready lines with a translation, a transcription and voice live in the "Phrases" screen: calling a marina, asking for a berth, port control, bridges and locks, fuel and water, weather by radio, commands to the crew. A category is built as a dialogue, with each line marked for who is speaking, and it can be played straight through so the rhythm sticks. Useful lines are starred into a list of your own.
The MAYDAY, PAN-PAN and SÉCURITÉ templates open from the same place: the screen walks you down the lines and fills in the position from GPS. The details are in "Distress calls: MAYDAY, PAN-PAN, SÉCURITÉ".
When someone calls you and the words dissolve, the "Radio" screen listens, recognises the speech on the phone and explains what was said and what to answer. Short guides to both screens are "The phrasebook" and "The radio breakdown". For meeting traffic on the water, read "Who gives way at sea: the COLREGs in plain English" and "How to read ships' lights at night: what you see and what it means".