Ramona said...





There are plenty of manufacturers of AIS. I would suggest perusing the Comar site.

comarsystems.com/

Other sources of info are the solo sailing sites such as www.offshoresolo.com/ and plenty of other yachting forums, mainly British where the use of AIS is widely used in the channel.

Amuse yourself with this site. www.marinetraffic.com/ais/default.aspx?level0=100#

cisco said...



Yes!! When the radio transmission is something like:-"Bulk carrier off Cape Bowling Green X 3, this is the white yacht Cisco off your starboard bow X 3, are you receiving over??"

If the officer of the watch is alert, you might get a reply. If you can read the name of the ship it is perilously too close.

Comparatively speaking between a large bulk carrier and small yacht, the carrier is "Restricted in it's ability to manouvre."

In that circumstance, a person commanding a yacht who would claim right of way due to being a sailing vessel, needs their head read.

I always attempt to contact large vessels in my vicinity to let them know my intentions. They will usually thank you for contacting them and give you respect for doing it. The last thing they want is a marine incident.

NightCap said...

Agreed its an excellent tool to aid safety in particular for solo sailors.
How do you get it?(on a budget!)
It runs on VHF signals i understand??
Do you need a DSC VHF?
Can a DSC VHF run it or do you have to fork out for a chartplotter?
Can a handheld GPS receive it?

thanks