A radio voice is thin, clipped and often half lost in noise. The phonetic alphabet, figures said one by one and a few fixed procedure words make sure a name, a berth number or a position arrives exactly as you sent it.
How do I spell my yacht's name over the VHF radio?
Say the name, then I SPELL, then each letter as its word in the phonetic alphabet: "Nova, I SPELL, November Oscar Victor Alfa". Pontoon B is Bravo, never just "B".
On the air B, D, E, P and T all sound alike. So every letter has a word of its own, the same on every ship and in every country. Learn all 26 by heart: you will spell your yacht's name, her call sign, a pontoon letter. Pontoon B is Bravo, never just "B".
| A–G | H–N | O–U | V–Z |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Alfa | H Hotel | O Oscar | V Victor |
| B Bravo | I India | P Papa | W Whiskey |
| C Charlie | J Juliett | Q Quebec | X X-ray |
| D Delta | K Kilo | R Romeo | Y Yankee |
| E Echo | L Lima | S Sierra | Z Zulu |
| F Foxtrot | M Mike | T Tango | |
| G Golf | N November | U Uniform |
A yacht called Nova, spelled out.
Say the word, then spell it: "Nova, I SPELL, November Oscar Victor Alfa".
Why do sailors say "niner" instead of "nine" on the radio?
Niner cuts through noise, while a plain "nine" is easily taken for "five". Numbers go out figure by figure, so berth 27 is "two seven", and the decimal point is the word "decimal".
Numbers go out figure by figure. "Fifteen" and "fifty" differ by one faint sound, and a yacht ends up at the wrong berth; one five and five zero cannot be confused. Berth 27 on pontoon D is "pontoon Delta, berth two seven". A nine-figure MMSI is nine separate words, zeros included.
| Figure | Say | Figure | Say |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | zero | 5 | fife |
| 1 | wun | 6 | six |
| 2 | too | 7 | seven |
| 3 | tree | 8 | ait |
| 4 | fower | 9 | niner |
The odd spellings show how to pronounce the figures so that they cut through noise. Niner matters most: a plain "nine" is easily taken for "five". The decimal point is the word decimal: a draft of 1.9 m is "one decimal niner metres".
How do I read out my latitude and longitude on the VHF?
Latitude first, then longitude, as the plotter shows them: degrees, minutes with "decimal", then north or south, east or west. Longitude always has three figures of degrees, so 24° east begins "zero two four".
Read a position in the order the plotter shows it: latitude first, then longitude. Each goes degrees, then minutes with "decimal", then its hemisphere: north or south, east or west. Longitude always has three figures of degrees, so 24° east begins "zero two four".
Speak at the pace of someone writing it down. A position heard wrong sends help to the wrong place.
Do I answer RECEIVED or AFFIRMATIVE when the other station asks me a question?
AFFIRMATIVE, which means yes. RECEIVED only says that the message arrived, and a question still needs its answer: "do you need a diver?" gets AFFIRMATIVE, not RECEIVED.
A VHF channel carries one voice at a time: while you hold the press-to-talk switch you hear nobody. Procedure words, or prowords, mark the turns. THIS IS stands between the station you call and your own name; leave it out and nobody knows who is calling whom. OVER hands the turn across, OUT ends the conversation.
| Proword | Meaning |
|---|---|
| THIS IS | My own name follows |
| OVER | I have finished and expect your reply |
| OUT | The call is finished, no reply expected |
| RECEIVED | I heard and understood your message |
| AFFIRMATIVE | Yes |
| WAIT | I need a pause; add the minutes if you can |
| STATION CALLING | I did not catch who is calling me |
RECEIVED only says that the message arrived. A question still needs its answer: "do you need a diver?" gets AFFIRMATIVE, not RECEIVED. If the caller's name was lost, reply "Station calling Nova, this is Nova, OVER".
OVER or OUT, never both: you cannot ask for a reply and end the call in one breath.
What do I say on the radio if I miss part of a message?
SAY AGAIN; "repeat" is not used for this on the radio. If only part was lost, ask for that part and name a word you heard: "SAY AGAIN ALL AFTER Delta" gets everything after it.
Sooner or later noise eats part of a message. Ask for it with SAY AGAIN; the word "repeat" is not used for this on the radio. If only a part was lost, ask for that part alone and name the word you did hear.
| You send | You get |
|---|---|
| SAY AGAIN | The whole message |
| SAY AGAIN ALL AFTER … | Everything after the word you name |
| SAY AGAIN ALL BEFORE … | Everything before the word you name |
| SAY AGAIN WORD AFTER … | The single word that followed it |
Your own slip is mended with CORRECTION: it cancels what you have just said, and the right version follows. "Berth two three, CORRECTION, berth two five" means berth 25. When you hear it, drop what came before the word and act on what comes after. I SPELL warns that the next words are letters of the phonetic alphabet.
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
The marina asks you to spell your yacht's name, KIRA. What do you say?
A. "Kilo India Romeo Alfa"
The phonetic alphabet: K Kilo, I India, R Romeo, A Alfa.
You must read out your latitude. How do you say it?
A. "Three seven degrees five two decimal four minutes north"
Positions are read figure by figure: degrees, minutes with "decimal", then north or south.
The coastguard asks your position. How do you read it out?
B. "Three six degrees two seven decimal niner minutes north, zero two five degrees zero eight decimal three minutes east"
Latitude first, then longitude with three figures of degrees; all figures one by one.
The marina's reply reaches you like this. What do you send?
A. "SAY AGAIN WORD AFTER pontoon, OVER"
WORD AFTER asks for the single word that followed the one you name.
The marina's reply is drowned out by an engine starting nearby; you understood nothing. What do you send?
B. SAY AGAIN
SAY AGAIN asks for the whole message again; REPEAT is not used for this on the radio.
The marina gives you your berth and the code for the shower block. You have understood it all. Which word confirms that?
C. RECEIVED
RECEIVED means the message has been heard and understood.
All 20 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.