Bouy 10 safety issues
I monitor channels 16-22-& 23 on a couple of radios here, and listen close to the radio operations of the Coast Guard and other vessels using the VHF radio channels. A few issues that I have witnessed first hand,,,,,,,,if you need to call the CG for a bar report, understand that in a 2 hour period on a typical Saturday or Sunday morning, they may answer three or four dozen requests for the bar conditions. Usually if you turn your radio on when you are leaving the dock, by the time you are at the mouth of the river at "A" jetty, you will have heard at least two or three bar reports, without requesting one on channel 16. The personnell at Cape D and the tower and for that matter at group Astoria are very busy with radio traffic concerning their own vessels, people experiencing mechanical problems and people lost or disoriented. Using your vessel ID numbers in all radio communications is a mandatory part of radio protocol. These are the Numbers issued to your vessel by the state. The numbers on the bow, (pointy end) of your boat. Other common errors are people not securing their microphones in a proper manner, so the mike key gets activated, and all of the people on that channel get to hear you gab about your super secret fish catching method or the torrid love affair your brother in-law is having. It also blocks the channel for emergency radio traffic. The third issue that I witness is identifying your vessel as a fishing vessel. You and I would like to think that our boat is a fishing vessel but in reality, its a recreational vessel. Identifying your boat as a fishing vessel is a little confusing to the young people manning the radios at the various Coast Guard facilities. When you say fishing vessel, the Coast Guard starts thinking big tonnage vessels that require large tow vessels and emergency pumps, that would sink one of our 20-26' boats. I understand that in an emergency, it's really hard to remember to speak clearly and be concise, but it makes it a lot easier to be understood. Now, if they will just make the young people on the CG side of the radio slow down their speach a little and teach them to speak a little more clearly, then maybe us old duffers can understand their side of the coversation too. :grin: :grin: :grin:
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Gus Orviston
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