While I was in Daytona Beach, waiting for the mechanic to show up to work
on the diesel, I monitored 14.300 Maritime Mobile Service Net run by the
"professionals", those retired hams who doggedly keep MMSN running.

The captain of a Honduran fishing vessel half way to Jamaica knew where to
come to get ANSWERED. He got the finest emergency service anyone could ask
for. Eventually, USCG got contact with the Honduran Air Force who located
the boat and sent a boat to intercept him with medical care. The victim,
who had been stabbed with a 7" knife in between his guts in a fight aboard,
actually survived they tell me!

The boat captain wasn't a ham, not licensed. That mattered not. What I
couldn't figure out is why CG didn't come up on 14300 to talk to him,
directly. The hams provided all the comms to the boat. The ham talking to
USCG was in Canada.

A lot of bad things happen to ham radio, these days. But, those old guys
who give up their retirement to help the net....made ham radio just shine
like a bright star that day.

Larry