On Sat, 27 Nov 2010 09:26:23 -0800 (PST), "Katie O'Hara"
wrote:

I am considering buying a portable short wave/ssb receiver for when I
am cruising the Bahamas. My thinking is that I might be able to get
weather forecasts. Can anybody comment on this? Can you get the
usual NOAA weather channels on VHF in out islands? Am I correct in
thinking one can get weather an shortwave/SSB?

you can get wx on ssb. the USCG broadcasts this regularly, and we hams
do so, generally at the bottom of the hour during the day on 14.3 MHz.

look for a used sony IC 2010 on ebay (about $150). that's one of the
best around. almost any decent shortwave receiver that has SSB
capability will pick up wx broadcasts.