I never said you did. The RYA Instructor / Examiner who openly said he wants to part you with your cash did, while implying you couldn't have a VHF on the boat without someone with the ticket to use it was the one who thinks you are basically dangling you and your family off a cliff on a piece of thread.
Willk you are absolutely correct - I have had to make some assumptions by joining some dots. The facts seem to be:
- There is an MMSI Number on the Boat
- There is a new DSC radio being purchased
I have assumed that the existing DSC is absent rather than being upgraded. (Surely it must be - beerbelly hasn't started a 'should I upgrade my DSC thread!' or 'can anyone tell me how to get this DSC to work thread').
You are right. There may never even have been a DSC. Or it may have died and been removed. My gut feel is still the radio has been removed either to go on a new boat or to sell on. We all know reprogramming MMSIs is a PITA so the chances of the set being reprogrammed if the old owner he has put it on his
replacement RIB are low IMHO.
I agree that a VHF is a good bit of safety kit. I'm assuming some even more essentials like lifejacket and anchor are already sorted. Not everyone actually does agree. And the process of getting a piece of paper that no-one ever asks to see is very certainly a deterent.
I completely support that people should be encouraged to learn to use the kit. But its ironic that I can buy a 300HP RIB, with no anchor, no life jackets, never having driven a boat in my life and no-one can do jack sh17 about it. Yet as soon as I transmit on channel 80 to the marina to ask them to open the lock gate in theory if I don't have a certificate I can be arrested?
So my preference would be that every boat had a VHF and none had a certificate to use it than none had a VHF at all because they didn't have the piece of paper. While everyone says "of course you can use a VHF in an emergency" they need to understand that is a specific legal exclusion rather than no-one is likely to prosecute you for using it in an emergency. This would be different from driving at 120MPH to escape a forest fire. There is no legal way you can drive a normal car on a road at 120MPH. You probably wont get prosecuted for it if you were escaping a forest fire, and if you did a court may well decide not to punish you. But you'd still have had to break the law.
If you have NO use for a VHF other than in an emergency (or only use on M1/ M2 ;-) ) then it has to be better to fit the VHF without the paperwork to use it than to decide not to fit. That sounds like what beerbelly has currently done. As his ribbing evolves he knows he may have uses and plans to train.
My argument (believe it or not - I am on the side of we should train VHF users) is that when beerbelly gets into a spot of bother that isn't a full on emergency he may not use his VHF for fear that the Liverpool Lifeboat man will be checking his paperwork. So he waits while trying to fix the problem himself. That turns into an emergency. by which time the lifeboat crew are taking risks to hel rather than just towing him in.
Is it?
Yes legally it is - you are right, he shouldn't keep it. But IF he has how confusing will it be if beerbelly presses the big red button? That will be beerbelly's problem. The coastgaurd call beerbelly back, but by misfortune his reception is poor but the other guy is on the water. He responds he isn't in distress. CG tell him is red button was pressed. He says "Oh I must have a fault on my radio and switches off". Meanwhile beerbelly is drifting helpless...
Maybe that's an extreme example - but what is the risks for the boat being given a new MMSI?
Have you asked them?
I'm certain Ofcom would say exactly what Willk said. Contact the guy who sold you the boat and find out the fate of the old radio. When he says "Not me gov that sticker was on the boat when I bought it". Ofcom would then try to contact the registered owner they have. Who will not respond because the contact details will be ancient. Ofcom will then deem it safer to issue a new MMSI (there is no risk with the boat having an updated MMSI). I say this with certainty - because I know cases on yachts where exactly that has happened.
If the original owner moved the DSC from his RIB to a yacht that will cause major issues. If he moved it from one RIB to an almost identical RIB (similar size, colour etc) - would anyone notice.
Likewise if beerbelly simply applies for a new MMSI how would OfCom know this boat has a previous MMSI. He has now told us he is thinking of changing name so even less likely.
so to end this id like to thank everyone for your invaluable help and info
