Actually, I do know the lingo and that the radio has been a substitute
for the horns for a long time. This does make me realize something I
hadn't thought of though. I've been thinking they would be reluctant
to engage with every yacht out there but I'll bet it's similar to air
traffic controllers. When they hear a crisp and professional sounding
call up they give the pilot much different service than when someone
is stumbling and blubbering. I'm sure the commercial vessel captains
would respond to an efficient and proper call as well.

--

Roger Long



"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 06 Jul 2006 11:40:02 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I'm not sure the ferry captains would care or bother to yak with
every
small boat out there. I'm quite comfortable with the radio.

Most commercial vessels monitor 13 and 16 all of the time and are
quick to respond to a call on 13 in my experience. You need to
learn
their language with regard to passing on "one whistle" or "two
whistles". That's how they generally communicate with each other
and
it's much more effective than actual horn signals.