On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 04:27:21 GMT, Rosalie B.
wrote:



However, I don't mind the puny names so much as those names with a
whole lot of vowels in them. We've met people on a boat named for the
blue crab and the name means beautiful swimmer or something like that,
and when they check in on the SSB with Herb, they call themselves
something that is easier to understand.

You don't want to **** off Herb. G



We met some folks on a boat named ARCTURUS, which is a star, but he
said folks have a lot of trouble with the name on the radio. It must
get tiring to have to explain your boat's name all the time.

Now, that tells you something, as Arcturus, being one of the better
celestial navigational stars, would have been as familiar as "Polaris"
twenty years ago.

Anyway, your point about a lot of vowels is interesting. Under less
than ideal transmitting conditions, more vowels would equal less
meaning conveyed to a distant station. I wonder how the French,
Spanish and Italian Coast Guards handle the inherent "ah-ee-oo" sounds
on their radio communications at sea? I would guess they have to do a
lot more spelling out than people speaking Germanic languages.

I regularly intercept pretty weak 'n' crunchy TX from distant stations
while sailing, and I can usually follow the plot just from the way the
consonants are flowing.

R.