Correct: "Intrepid, Intrepid, Intrepid, this is sailing vessel Bountiful, sailing vessel Bountiful, sailing vessel Bountiful, on Channel 16, over."

Amateurish: "Calling Intrepid, calling Intrepid. Come in, please."

The other boat should answer: "Sailing vessel Bountiful, this is Intrepid, over."

Then you say: "Intrepid, this is Bountiful. Request you switch to channel 71. Over."

After you switch to channel 71, contact the other vessel again and continue your conversation.

Correct (ending a conversation): "Intrepid, this is Bountiful. Roger, out."

Amateurish: "Okay, cap'n. Gotcha."

ICOMA remote microphone, or "command mike," puts control in the user's hand, rather than having to operate the radio from the primary set. A single radio can be operated from several stations.Finally, don't use CB-radio phrases such as "10-4," or "good buddy" or any name that is different from the name of your boat. Knowledgeable boaters will roll their eyes in frustration.

You also may want to learn the phonetic alphabet so you can clearly spell words that are difficult to discern. Under that widely-known system, each letter has a word-name that doesn't sound like any other. For example, it's often hard to tell S from F. But if you substitute sierra and foxtrot–from the phonetic alphabet–there isn't much doubt.

EMERGENCY PROCEDURES

There are especially important procedures for reporting emergencies to the Coast Guard or other authorities.

You should use the term Mayday for situations in which lives or property are in imminent danger. It's an Americanization of the French phrase, m'aidez, or "help me."

If the safety of your vessel is at risk, but no lives or property are in imminent danger, start your transmission with the term Pan-Pan (prounounced, after the French, "pawn-pawn").

When you just want to report navigational hazards, such as a large log floating down the river or a sudden squall in your area, start your message with Securite (pronounced "seh-cure-ih-TAY").

So, if your boat is on fire and sinking and you're calling for help, turn to Channel 16, press the mike key and say: "Mayday, , mayday, mayday. This is Bountiful, Bountiful, Bountiful. My boat is on fire and sinking fast, one mile east of buoy number 67 on Fishing Bay. My boat is a 28-foot sloop with a blue hull and white cabin trunk. I have four persons on board and we're all wearing life-jackets. No injuries. Request immediate assistance. Over."

If you have a GPS receiver and can provide the latitude and longitude of your position, that will be a big help for first-responders and other boaters.

Here's the kind of information that the Coast Guard will want to have if you're asking for help: the name of your vessel; your location; a description of your vessel (so responders know what to look for); what the problem is (person had a heart attack, you've hit a rock and are sinking); what kind of help you need (medical, tow); how many persons you have on board, including yourself; how seaworthy your vessel is (are you likely to sink anytime soon?); and that you will be monitoring Channel 16 on your radio.

One final tip: don't use your radio to shout at people, as in "Hey, you dummy–there's a six-knot speed limit in this channel." The offending boater probably doesn't have his radio turned on and wouldn't know you were talking to him anyway. Yet you'll be transmitting your anger to everyone for miles around. If you must yell at a nearby boater, buy a loud-hailer, and yell at him the old-fashioned way.