GMDSS General Operators Certificate (GOC)

RYA VHF/GMDSS Operator's course.

This intensive one day course allows students to develop practical skills in both VHF Voice and Digital Selective Calling (DSC).

Venue: Royal Southampton YC, Ocean Village.

Duration: 9.00am to 5.00pm

On the course students will use the new VHF/DSC equipment and then demonstrate their competence by completing a short written test.

The course is suitable for both individuals new to radio telephony, and more experienced users who want to update their skills to GMDSS.

Course Structure

Course Content

Distress Situations

• Define a distress situation

• Initiate a DSC Distress Alert, with position and time input manually or automatically

• Send a Mayday call and message by voice

• Respond appropriately to a DSC Distress Alert and to a Mayday call and message, including relay of a distress message

• Know how to employ an EPIRB and a START

Urgent Situations

• Define an urgency situation

• Initiate a DSC urgency alert

• Send a Pan Pan call and message by voice

• Respond appropriately to an urgency message

Safety Situations

• Identify a situation in which a safety message is appropriate

• Input a DSC safety alert

• Send a safety message by voice

• Receive Maritime Safety Information by NAVTEX

Routine Communication

• Initiate a DSC routine alert

• Establish communication and exchange messages with other stations by voice on appropriate channels

• Test the radiotelephone by means of an appropriate test call

• Initiate a DSC self test

• Enter a DSC group and individual MMSI

• Maintain an appropriate listening watch on DSC and voice channels

• Use the International Phonetic Alphabet