RYA VHF Marine Radio (SRC)

This course starts by looking at the practical operation of a standard Marine VHF, Channel usage, Distress/Urgency/Safety and routine voice procedures.

Course Structure

A. Distress situations

1. Define a distress situation.

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

3. Send a Mayday call and message by voice.

4. Respond appropriately to a DSC Distress Alert and to a Mayday call and message,

including relay of a distress message.

5. Know how to deploy an EPIRB and a SART.

B. Urgency Situations

1. Define an urgency situation.

2. Initiate a DSC urgency alert.

3. Send a Pan Pan call and message by voice.

4. Respond appropriately to an urgency message.

C. Safety Situations

1. Identify a situation in which a safety message is appropriate.

2. Input a DSC safety alert.

3. Send a safety message by voice.

4. Receive Maritime Safety Information by NAVTEX.

D. Routine Communication

1. Initiate a DCS routine alert.

2. Establish communication and exchange messages with other stations by voice on

appropriate channels.

3. Test the radio telephone by means of an appropriate test call.

4. Initiate a DSC self test.

5. Enter a DSC group and Individual MMSI.

6. Maintain an appropriate listening watch on DSC and voice channels.

7. Use the International Phonetic Alphabet.