Flares, Epirbs, Sat phones, Spot locator beacons, cell phones and even smoke signals are all great. But there’s no better rescue tool than actual communication with someone who can help. For this, it doesn’t get any better than a VHF radio.
For the ins and outs of how to use one, we went to Michael Pardy, past president of the Sea Kayak Guides Alliance of British Columbia and co-founder of Canada’s Sea Kayak Instruction & Leadership Systems (SKILS), an organization that trains sea kayak guides and instructors. A coauthor of the Handbook of Sea Kayak Safety and Rescue, he’s used them throughout his 24-year teaching career, once to save a scuba diver getting carried away by Baynes Channel’s notorious current. “We paddled up and supported him and then used the radio to call the Coast Guard,” he says. “Before we knew it, a whale-watching boat picked him up.”
Actually use it. A lot of people are afraid of them. But they’re a tool and a communication device. They plug you into the rest of the marine community, and make us a part of that community.
Keep it accessible. It does no good in your hatch. Keep it on your deck, in a lap bag or on your body — someplace you can get to it easily. I wear mine lanyarded to my PFD and shoved between my PFD and my body.
Know the main frequencies. Channel 16 is the international distress channel that works everywhere in North America. It hooks you up with the Coast Guard and every other boat on the water.
Designate an open channel for your group. You can use it like a walkie-talkie without bugging anyone else.
Learn basic radio courtesy. Use “over” when passing the conversation over to the other person. Speak slowly, clearly and succinctly. Also, speak downwind instead of upwind to eliminate wind chatter.
Relax. People feel they need to be more formal than they have to be. It’s a person on the end of the line just like you. To help, turn the radio on to a regular channel like 111 or 12 and just listen in for a while to other people using it. They’re pretty casual.
General Info – Canada based but virtually identical to US
http://boating.ncf.ca/vhf.html
Frequency Info