03-28-2013, 02:23 AM
Absolutely. All staffed marinas and NDOW both mobil and base stations monitor vhf channel 16, the emergency channel 24 hours a day. When I had a slip at callville, I could radio them from channel 8 or 11 I beleive for a tow during operating hours.
Last year my little brother got lost outside of the narrows at night and then ran out of gas and spent the night drifting through the narrows. (He did not take the radio from my other boat like I told him too) The next day, I got a call from NDOW (main office on Vegas Dr.) saying they had my boat with a person in it claiming to be my brother drifting through the virgin basin. I confirmed he was my brother and allowed to be in possesion of my boat and then I asked if I could talk with him. They asked if I had a VHF radio, I said yes and grabbed my handheld and switched to channel 13 (only use 16 during initial mayday) I talked to him from my house.
I never go out without my vhf. Easily the difference between being rescued or being stranded.
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Last year my little brother got lost outside of the narrows at night and then ran out of gas and spent the night drifting through the narrows. (He did not take the radio from my other boat like I told him too) The next day, I got a call from NDOW (main office on Vegas Dr.) saying they had my boat with a person in it claiming to be my brother drifting through the virgin basin. I confirmed he was my brother and allowed to be in possesion of my boat and then I asked if I could talk with him. They asked if I had a VHF radio, I said yes and grabbed my handheld and switched to channel 13 (only use 16 during initial mayday) I talked to him from my house.
I never go out without my vhf. Easily the difference between being rescued or being stranded.
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