HJ -- It is a nice flotation vest; I bought it for flying, but it would do well for sport fishing. I mostly fly over-water and figured if we were ever forced into a ditch situation, a radio would be nice to have in the life-raft.
A thread here (much like this one) had a boat sink on a short timeline and handheld marine VHF radio (one of the floating models) found its way to the surface and was used to make a mayday call after the survivors were in the water. As I recall, those guys had no PFD's, but the radio got them assistance in the way of a larger commercial vessel -- Channel 16 is a great emergency communication channel.
That thread gave me the idea to put a
Marine VHF radio in my aviation survival vest. It's a nice radio, but I hope there is never a need for it.
Just be aware that a handheld VHF used by someone floating in a PFD will be have a very short effective range. VHF radios are essentially line-of-sight. Antenna height above the water of the radios at both ends of the coversation is the critical factor (wattage less so). The usual quoted maximum range of the typical 5 watt marine handheld is about 5-6 miles. But this assumes both sending and recieving stations are above wave height. If you are bobbing up and down in any sort of waves, your conversation is likely to be intermittent at best. In effect, anytime you can't see them, you can't talk to them.
The second thing to remember is that even if another boat has a VHF, there is no guarantee that they are monitoring Channel 16. They are supposed to, but many vessels don't. In particular, recreational vessels often turn the radio off, since listening to routine hailing transmissions all day can be annoying. USCG Stations on shore usually have a very high antenna, and monitor Ch 16 24/7, so they might hear your Mayday. Even then, however, when you are down in the trough between waves they probably won't recieve your transmissions.
Don't get me wrong, I think marine handheld VHF radios are a great idea. I always carry one when sea kayaking. Just don't get your expectations too high! And try to get that Mayday off
before you are in the water.
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