It's a dark, cold winter evening, and although the barren anteroom of the examination centre where I'm sitting is only heated to a minimum, my hands are sweating.
In front of me is a VHF radio. Fortunately, it's the same model that I recognise from last weekend's radio course. Next to me is my exam partner, also a friend from the course. Each of us is holding a small card with information about the simulated situation for which we are about to make a radio call. The examiner looks at my colleague and nods curtly. "You may begin." My partner grabs the microphone. It's an emergency message. A classic. I know the procedure, I've practised it dozens of times. But after just a few seconds it becomes clear: this is going wrong. Because after repeating the mayday three times, he repeats "to all stations". No addressee is named for an emergency message.
The examiner raises his eyebrows and interrupts: "Take a deep breath, think for a moment and try again." My partner falters - then the penny drops. He starts again and the second attempt goes smoothly. The examiner congratulates him and turns to me: "And now please stop the emergency traffic." I grab the microphone. So in my case: "Mayday" only once and this time actually "all stations" three times.
Slowly and with concentration, I read the callsign and MMSI from my card and follow the scheme in my mind's eye exactly. When I arrive at "Silence Fini" and look up, the examiner nods and smiles at me encouragingly. The tension falls away.
Related special articles on the subject of "Sparks":
I admit: I didn't have much desire to get more involved with the spark or even prepare for an exam. Not because I didn't think it was important - on the contrary. Like many skippers, I have an inexplicable respect for the microphone in my hand.
At the YACHT webinar "Radio - your connection at sea", a recent survey of the 134 participants revealed that 68 per cent of them already had a radio certificate, but hardly ever used this qualification in practice. Why is that?
YANKEE ALFA CHARLIE HOTEL TANGO - check
The assumption is that a certificate alone is not enough to lose inhibitions. But it's certainly a start, and winter seemed like the right time for me to face up to this blockade. No cruises, no time pressure, no excuses. So I signed up for a weekend SRC and UBI course at the Frank Lochte sailing school in Lüneburg - marine radio and inland radio. Two licences, some overlaps, some differences and a surprising number of rules. The Short Range Certificate (SRC) authorises participation in VHF marine radio. It is mandatory for recreational boaters as soon as they have a radio on board - regardless of whether they own or charter a boat. Less relevant for most sailors, but not unimportant to know for many a ferry trip: Anyone travelling on rivers, canals or lakes with a radio requires the UBI, the VHF radiotelephone certificate for inland navigation radio.
The exams consist of three parts: The SRC exam begins with the dictation of a marine radio text in English, which must be written down and translated into German. Including international radio alphabet. YANKEE ALFA CHARLIE HOTEL TANGO - check, I can do it.
Then a German maritime text with specialised vocabulary has to be translated into English. Doable for me, but a real challenge for some of my "classmates" who last spoke English at school 30 years ago.
However, no completely unknown radio messages are tested in the examination. There are 27 sample messages. If you repeat these extensively until you have mastered them, you are on the safe side.
To the complete radio message
The second part then contains 24 (SRC) and 22 (UBI) multiple-choice questions on radio rules, technology, channels and operating procedures, which are taken from a considerably large catalogue of questions (180 questions SRC, 130 questions UBI). If you already have the SRC in your pocket or, like me, have taken both together, you only have to take the UBI supplementary exam, which consists of ten questions. This is also doable - if you can find the time to study for it.
What I find helpful here is the Delius Klasing Learning App. Because I can use it to swot up whenever I have a free minute. The software for the smartphone works with the flashcard system. Questions that I'm not sure of are repeated until I've got the answers right.
However, the practical part of the test is what inspires the most respect in me. I have to prove that I can navigate safely through the various programme points of a radio and then send a complete radio message. According to the standardised call schemes, in the correct sequence, without getting confused anywhere. And that's more difficult than I thought. As very few people have a radio at home, it is advisable to do a course where you practise speaking - as banal as that sounds. Because radio is not knowledge that you just have to call up - you have to use it.
You don't learn radio just by memorising it, but by speaking it, repeating it and making mistakes. Mayday, Pan-Pan or Sécurité? If the worst comes to the worst, I also need to be able to differentiate: Is this an emergency? Urgency? Or safety? When do I say what and in what order, and what do I have to repeat and how often?
Rules follow a logical sequence
Looking at the various call schemes makes my head spin. Especially when I try to recite the radio calls without the memo. In my mind's eye, everything is whirring merrily around, I always forget something. Ship names three times, callsign, MMSI, ship names again, once. Ah, crap, I've forgotten the position! Then all the routine traffic with its own channels and its own protocol.
The rules are not actually complicated, but logical: the addressee always comes first so that everyone listening in immediately realises who is meant. If you don't just memorise the sequence, but understand what purpose it serves, it is much easier to recall it. Combination radios allow you to switch between marine and inland radio. The most important differences: While in marine radio you manually reduce the transmission power from 25 to 1 watt before radioing harbours so that you don't "shout in the ear" of the addressee and drown out everything else, the devices automatically switch to the lower transmission power when switching the channel group from DSC to ATIS, because inland radio is generally only transmitted with 1 watt.
Special features in marine radio
Also important: At sea, channel 16 is the international emergency and call channel. In inland radio, however, channel 10 is used for this purpose and ships must always be ready to listen. This no longer applies to maritime radio with the DSC. Digital Selective Calling has made the permanent listening watch on channel 16 obsolete because a loud beep sounds as soon as an alert is received, regardless of which channel was previously set.
Each marine radio station with DSC also receives an individual number, the MMSI, which can also be used to make direct calls. The MMSI of the ships in the vicinity can be viewed via AIS. The digital selective call offers decisive advantages over a mobile phone call: Firstly, it is independent of network coverage, and secondly, in an emergency, all important data, such as the position, vessel identification and - if already selected in the menu - even the type of emergency, are transmitted at the touch of a button.
And not just to the relevant maritime distress control centre (whose telephone number you would first need to have to hand), but simultaneously to all ships in the vicinity. This means that even if you are outside the range of the nearest coastal radio station, there is a good chance that another marine radio station will hear the distress call and pass it on.
Sparks in the inland radio range
However, there is no DSC in the inland radio range. Instead, ATIS is used, an automatic identifier at the end of each transmission. After contact via the call channel, a change is made to a working channel - both inland and at sea. Although there is radio etiquette in principle here too, in everyday life communication usually proves to be more relaxed than is taught in theory. Just as when learning a foreign language, it is advisable to listen to radio conversations in order to develop a feel for them and expand your vocabulary.
A few days later, the two notes arrive in my letterbox. One red and one blue. So now I know how sparking works. But, as with the sports boat licence, they say little about how experienced I am in practice. After all, radio is not knowledge that you acquire once and then own. It's a skill that disappears if you don't use it. Safety comes from repetition. Through the seemingly banal calling of a harbour. By having the courage to pick up the microphone, even if you could theoretically use your mobile phone.
So that the first radio message after the test is not the emergency message outside the mobile phone network range. To summarise: By radioing as often as possible.
How to achieve radio routine - 16 tips for more safety
- Listen and learn Follow VHF traffic regularly. This helps you to memorise procedures and typical phrases and get a feel for the language.
- Know your device Volume, squelch, channel selection - all basic functions must work without searching. Go through all the functions again before every trip.
- Crew briefing Most devices are similar, but there are also differences. With every new charter yacht, the crew should be familiarised with the operation until the functions are really understood.
- Processes at your fingertips Have the procedure for emergency calls such as Sécurité, Pan-Pan and Mayday ready as a cheat sheet next to the radio - including MMSI and call sign.
- Precinct information at hand Note the VHF channels of harbours, locks and bridges and position them visibly.
- Listen and repeat Use and repeat audio training. The book "Funkverkehr an Bord von Yachten" by Delius Klasing (Heidbrink, ISBN 978-3-667-11430-3, 29.90 euros) also contains radiotelephony exercises as MP3 files.
- Start small First make simple calls: Request a berth, enquire about opening hours, make arrangements with other yachts.
- Sparks among friends In the flotilla or with friends, consciously communicate via VHF radio instead of mobile phones. You can practise on your "own channel" without too many listeners.
- Utilising idle time on board In between, play through emergency or routine situations on board - be addressed by the crew member and respond and ask each other questions.
- Mastering the radio language The most important nautical terms and standard phrases need to be in place. Automate typical introductions and endings. This provides structure.
- Vowel training Repeat the internationally standardised Marine Communication Phrases regularly. If possible, pay attention to correct pronunciation.
- Practise alphabet Practise the radiotelephony alphabet (which is also used in the flag alphabet) regularly with any words.
- Learn from professionals Observe radio discipline: Traffic centres and sea rescuers are good role models here.
- Simulate stress Practise while navigating or mooring at the same time - trains multitasking and safety for stressful situations.
- Debriefing Briefly analyse radio conversations with the crew: What was good? What could be clearer?
- Keep at it Routine comes from repetition. Use every opportunity to spark.
Jill Grigoleit
Editor Travel
