Page 31 - Race

7.3 VHF

The radio operator must have a VHF licence and adhere to the regulations and procedures imposed
by that licence. It is acceptable for such a person to delegate this role to another unlicensed individual
but this must be undertaken with supervision.

It is important that, if this method of communication is to be used in race management at an event,
the competitors are advised of this in the NoR (together with a list of the channels required) and the
channel used is defined in the SIs.

Race Committees must be aware that other committees may be racing in the same area and that
cooperation will be advantageous, including low power transmission whenever possible. In order
to avoid confusion, and in order to comply with the regulations of Ofcom, all transmissions must be
preceded by the call sign of the committee concerned.

All transmissions should be clear and kept to a minimum. So it is advisable to state clearly in the SIs
when courses will be announced, use the phonetic alphabet for course abbreviations and do not talk
unnecessarily. It is still possible to remain ‘competitor-friendly’ without blocking the airwaves with
unnecessary chatter.

Finally, remember that communication by VHF is often most difficult when the conditions are difficult
with strong winds. Techniques for abolishing wind noise are very important in these situations - face
downwind, shield the microphone from wind and avoid shouting. Inserting the VHF into a plastic
bag will also help reduce wind noise as do headsets. This also applies to communication between
members of the race management and safety teams in dinghy and board racing.

Version March 2018 29