SSCA HF radio service teams with Caribbean Safety and Security Net, Boatwatch.org
To the editor: When I was asked to join the board of directors of the SSCA in 2015, I asked myself, “How can I combine my passions, cruising and radio communications, and serve SSCA?”
I realized that perhaps I could make useful contributions to the organization and the cruising community by promoting the use of radio communications among cruisers.
As a full-time live-aboard for over 30 years who’s cruised 10 years in remote areas of the southern and southwest Caribbean, spending months at a time at anchor without cellular or Internet access, I have realized the importance of the HF/SSB radio aboard cruising vessels. Although a satellite phone is a great resource — and my wife, Eddie, and I used an Iridium phone during our cruising in the Caribbean — it is not a replacement for an HF/SSB radio.
I suggested to the Board that they establish an SSCA voice service (not a formal net) on the HF radio band to assist cruisers in remote locations, who are without cellular and Internet access, in order to relay priority and emergency information….
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