How to communicate at sea

What communications equipment do you really need to stay safe and keep in touch? Alan Denham explores options for every budget and cruising ambition

- 

Having purchased Finnrose 37, Fair Exchange, an elderly (1970), sturdy, long keel, sloop in 2005, I set off on my first cruise. Destination: west coast of Scotland. On board, I had my new VHF/DSC radio, an SSB receiver (to get the shipping forecast on Radio 4), a shiny new EPIRB and of course, my mobile phone, with 3G capabilities.

That was standard communications equipment 20 or so years ago - satellite communications was quite expensive and limited. Moving on to 2025 we have seen a revolution in tech and communications devices. We have never been better connected.

Traditionally, communications on board meant safety. In other words we carried devices that meant we could make contact with a coastguard in times of difficulty. Over the last 20 years we have become rather obsessed with a connection to the outside world. Our lives are ruled by access to the internet and mobile phone signals. These are now high priority for most of us, and when we head out to sea, we don't want to be without them.

It's not just that we need to do our internet banking, sort the car insurance and check the latest social media, but we want to use our tech to make cruising easier. Access to 'live' weather, tidal height and tidal stream data, passage planning tools and much more have taken a pivotal role in navigating our boats. These tools greatly simplify our day-to-day planning and navigation. In the past we used paper, now we use digital.

What do we need our devices to do? The list may be bigger than you first think:

■ Receipt of MSI (Marine Safety Information); weather hazards, search and rescue (SAR), navigational hazards and more

■ Distress calling (as well as requesting assistance and transmitting safety information)

■ Co-ordination during SAR

■ General communication with other vessels and shore-based stations

■ Tracking data for shore contacts and in some cases mandatory reporting