Darn it all..... I called my buddy on his sat phone last week. He was out
doing a cruise on his 20 ft Bayliner Trophy near Bowen Island in British
Columbia. I could hear the VHF in the background as his wife made dinner
reservations. He told me they tried a cell phone call but the line was busy
so they hailed the restaurant by radio instead. He also told me he was
really pleased that he took my advise not to include the SSB in the sale of
his sailboat and installed it on his small power boat. Seems he can contact
the ships around there just like he did on his trip across the Atlantic. .

Another friend of mine works as a shipping agent and he says he has a heck
of a time contacting his vessels.... sometimes he actually has to use his
cell phone and call their Satphone number. Uncanny..... is the fact that
every company knows where their vessels are! I think he said something about
them having to report? How odd is that Rick?

Yup... I guess you were right... I don't have a clue about communications
aboard vessels.
In retrospect "Mad Ellen" was flirting with disaster despite an advanced
array of computer and telecom equipment .

CM