Radio Days

Yesterday, I heard a Mayday call on the radio for the first time ever. The woman sounded quite frantic. It turned out that her boat was not sinking and no one's life was in danger. The boat had just run aground. Sheesh.

When I was near Cuttyhunk and Newport, the radio was full of Securite calls. These are usually only made by large ships to let folks know that they will be entering or leaving port or a small channel. The fog had rolled in around Cuttyhunk, and visibility was severely restricted. All these little boats were calling out their position and heading, especially if they were nearing a channel or high traffic area.

I got caught in the fog on the way to Newport. I was planning on using the Securite call when I got near the channel to Newport, but the fog cleared before then. Fog seems pretty common there, and a lot of the boats have radar. I don't.

Today someone (I assume accidentally) had their mike button pushed. They were broadcasting their music radio over their vhf radio. First they had a classic rock station playing, but then switched to adult contemporary. Among the playlist was Led Zeppelin's "It's been a long time", Matchbox 20's "If you're gone" and the Spin Doctors' "Two Princes". There were some guys talking in the background, but I couldn't make out the conversation. I imagine the guys looking something like the clown in the picture above.

Sunday Update

Today we had several children playing with the radios on their parents' boats. " hello hello hello googgoo lala". Also I forgot about the person calling the Coast Guard about the Great White Shark a few days ago in Martha's Vineyard.

Ah, Summertime.