VHF
18 April 2010 | Sudan, Africa
Dave n Judy
Yesterday while at anchor here in Khor El Marob, waiting for the wind to die down, we heard a distress call on the VHF Radio. It was about 3 in the afternoon and the ship was hailing everyone in the vicinity that they were "Out Of Control" giving their position! The term for that is "Security, Security, Security". (The term "May Day" is reserved for extreme emergencies). The VHF is our LIFELINE prompting me to write about it's abuse. For our safety and the safety of others we must monitor it 24/7. In all our years at sea there have always been a few ~ Various Horrible Fellows (VHF) who use this crucial tool as a means of moronic entertainment. Now, it seems to have escalated here in this part of the world to a Viciously Heinous Freak-Show! (VHF). Usually these degrading ethnic taunts and crude sexually explicit remarks are saved for after dark. They were so completely unnerving for me when we were crossing pirate alley listening to the numerous attacks while Coalition Force warships tried to contact the over stressed victims. Listening to those sinister voices of these mental midgets made those anxious moments even more stressful. Then yesterday, to have to listen to cat call noises and meowing during those high winds to a vessel radioing for help was just too much for me. If we respond to this nonsense it just amps them up even higher, There is absolutely nothing to be done to curtail the complete misuse of such a vital instrument to help save lives & property. We are completely dumbfounded at the irony of the situation.