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Joan and I normally take mobile phones with us in Aqupack cases.
Year before last I was knocked off the wire on our 18 when it got up to F6/7 in 3-4 foot waves have way through a 2 hour long race. and I went overboard about 4-5 miles from the club.
As we were at 30-40 degrees before my departure Joan capsized and she and the 18 drifted off rapidly (with the tramp acting as a sail with following seas), no way I in dry suit and 'personal flotation device' could swim to her. So I ended up floating for about 20 minutes in the middle of the Swale.
Whilst standing on the 18 hull Joan used her mobile to get the race tower and summons a PB. Luckily another competitor picked me up first. We keep the tower and Thames Coastguard numbers programmed in the phones.
VHF is better for directional location but if you are low to the water the earth's curvature will limit you to about 3-5 miles range unless the other end has a high antenna.
I did some tests for our long race up the Swale a few years ago and drew up a chart showing the line of sight obstructions and the earths' curvature. I found that one 3 metre high part of sea wall was blocking contact with the club. I am now looking for some 3 metre 25mm fibreglass rod on which to mount a remote antenna for our PB hand held VHFs - we have the brackets fitted on the PBs ready.
Our PBs also carry mobile phones which have been useful on a number of occasions when VHF contact could not be established.
Of course it all depends on phone coverage.............
The RYA advocate the use of VHF radio as you can talk to the Coastguard and other water users direct and at the same time. A Mobile is more limited in that respect.
Having said that, I often carry a cheap mobile in an Aquapack, which is secured to my bouyancy, so I can use it even if separated from the boat.
Not had cause to do so yet in an emergency situation, but have made and received calls whilst on the water, and it works fine, with only a slight drop in clarity through the bag.
P.S. Probably doesn't work too well with phones you flip or slide to use.
Steve, re your poles- have you tried an angling shop. don't know the proper name, but they sometimes use long rods without reels, which may well be want you are looking for. Angling shop likely to be a lot cheaper than chandlers.
Just a quick update. If anyone's planning on visiting the Excel Boat Show, there are a couple of stands selling VHFs a very good prices.
I was up there on Friday & Saturday and picked up a Cobra HH325 for £68 from the Fusion stand. Cheapest I could find them online was £85!!
Saw an interesting new little cat up there called the SmartKat, which is an inflatable tube type thingy with a clever centreboard that projects down from the underside of the mast foot. A great little lightweight summer toy.
Also, the Sprint may face some competition in the form of Topper's new 12-foot catamaran. It's dead cute and very well built.
I started carrying a VHF last year. I found a cheap if slightly chunky model from an online retailer that does the job. I can't remember the model off hand.
When racing I keep it on dual watch 16/M2.
In addition to the safety aspect, it can also be useful and informative to hear what the support boats and race officer are up to - especially when waiting around for a postponed start.
That said, after the practice race at the nationals I decided to turn the VHF off as soon as the start sequence was under way and then turn it back on after the finish. I was concerned that information I could hear during the pre-start and subsequent race might be considered an unfair advantage. For example the RO at Pentewan counted down the start live on air. Some ROs discuss the prospects for shortening course with their support boats which could affect race strategy. I wonder where the racing rules stand on this? I guess information broadcast on a public frequency is not privileged, but at the same time most competitors in an average dinghy/cat fleet won't have means to receive it.
David Ball
Sprint 15 1923 "Two's Complement"
Marconi SC
The RO at Pentewan had to set a long start line. He chose to relay the Start Sequence to a Rib stationed at the Pin End of the line, which you could hear from the Rib's VHF radios if you were close to the Pin End. The Rib's crew used the info to duplicate the Flags being displayed etc on the Committee Boat.
There was some Chat a while ago about using radios. I haven't "searched" for it, but I THINK that the conclusion at the time was that it was not a concern at Sprint 15 events, unless the Sailing Instructions stated otherwise - this might happen at "Cat Open" events....
