Making a Distress Call
For future reference, write your boat’s name & call sign here:
Speak slowly - clearly - calmly.
1. Make sure your radio is on.
2. Press the
16/9-TRI
key to switch to Channel 16 (156.8
MHz). (If the corner of the display does not show 16, press
the
16/9-TRI
key again until it does.)
3. Press the
Push to Talk
key and say: “
MAYDAY -- MAYDAY
-- MAYDAY
.”
4. Say “
THIS IS
{name of your boat (three times) and call sign/
boat registration number (once)}.
”
5. Repeat “
MAYDAY
{name of your boat}
” once.
6. Tell where you are: (what navigational aids or landmarks are
near, or read the latitude and longitude from your GPS).
7. State the nature of your distress (e.g. sinking, medical
emergency, man overboard, on fire, adrift, etc.).
8. State the type of assistance you need (medical, towing,
pumps, etc.).
9. Give the number of persons aboard and describe the
condition of any injured persons.
10. Estimate present seaworthiness of your ship (e.g. how
immediate is the danger due to flooding or fire).
11. Briefly describe your ship, giving ship name (i.e., “Blue Duck
is 32 foot cabin cruiser, white hull, blue deck house”).
12. Say: “
I WILL BE LISTENING ON CHANNEL 16.
”
13. End the message by saying “
THIS IS
{name or call sign of
your boat}
, OVER.
”
14. Release the
Push to Talk
key and listen.
if you do not get an answer after 30 seconds, repeat your call
beginning at step 3 above.
