Sydney Flying Squadron Australia's oldest open boat sailing club, est. 1891

Radio

Two VHF channels matter on race day. Channel 73 is the race committee's. Channel 16 is for an emergency, and everyone on the water listens to it.

Which call to make.

  1. Someone's life is in dangerMAYDAY on 16
  2. You need help, no one in immediate dangerPAN-PAN on 16, or on 73 to the race committee
  3. Anything else: retiring, the course, the startCall the race committee on 73

The two calls

Each call opens with its word three times and your boat's name three times, then says where you are, what is wrong, what you need and how many people are on board. It ends with OVER: you have finished speaking and are waiting for a reply.

MAYDAY

Grave and imminent danger to life

For a crew member unconscious or badly hurt, the boat sinking.

Radio Switch to channel 16 and high power.

  1. MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY

  2. This is skiff boat name, boat name, boat name

  3. MAYDAY boat name

  4. Position where you are

    A clear landmark, or a GPS position: 200 metres north of Shark Island.

  5. Nature of distress what is wrong

    Crew member unconscious. Hull breached.

  6. Require immediate rescue

  7. Number persons on board

  8. OVER

PAN-PAN

Urgent, but no immediate threat to life

For dismasted, or drifting into a shipping channel.

Radio Switch to channel 16, or to channel 73 to reach the race committee directly.

  1. PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN, PAN-PAN

  2. All stations, all stations, all stations

    Or, on channel 73: Race committee, race committee, race committee

  3. This is skiff boat name, boat name, boat name

  4. Position where you are

    A clear landmark: drifting near Sow and Pigs Reef.

  5. Nature of urgency what is wrong, and what you need

    Dismasted and require a tow.

  6. Number persons on board, all safe

  7. OVER

Channel 73 on race day

The race committee announces the course and runs the start sequence on channel 73, and a boat retiring from the race says so on it. If you need the club's help and no one is in danger, ask on 73.

At another club's regatta the regatta's race committee has its own arrangements, and the race page carries them. The Balmain Regatta's race committee also uses channel 73, for a postponement, a general recall, a shortened course and abandonment:

The flags the start boat flies, and the horns with them, are on the race flags page; the start sequences have a page each.

The club's radio procedure
The club's radio procedure for the fleet, October 2026. This page is transcribed from it: the two channels, and the two calls word for word. One change: the procedure says high power, 25 watts, which is a fixed set's figure, and the radio on a skiff is a handheld, so this page says high power alone. If the two ever differ, the procedure stands until the sailing committee says otherwise.