Radio

This is a page for all things radio-related at Ephemerisle!

The radios that most people use at Ephemerisle are marine VHF radios, which means that they are to be considered safety equipment first and foremost - every boat at Ephemerisle should be equipped with a marine VHF radio in case of emergency. They are not toys, and misuse can lead to stiff fines!

That being said, there's a lot of leeway to use VHF radios for social contact while staying legal with the FCC and Homeland Security! This page will outline a few of those ways.

Channel 69 is used for inter-island communication and reaching on-site medical or other support.

Channel 16 is used for reaching the coast guard.

Here’s how to report an emergency (channel 16):

May Day, May Day, May Day
This is rented houseboat  [boat name here].
We are anchored to the East of Mandeville County park.  
[State the type of the emergency.]

Here’s how to report a non-emergency safety problem, e.g., if platform parts drift into the shipping channel:

Security (pronounced securiTAY), Security, Security
This is rented houseboat  [boat name here].
We are anchored to the East of Mandeville County park.  
[State the type of the problem.]
[State that it’s in the process of being dealt with.]

Do *not* jokingly say the words "May Day" over a radio.