HAINAN
RACE 2002
RADIO/WEATHER
BROADCASTS
These
notes do NOT form part of the Hainan Race Sailing Instructions, and are issued
for information only.
RADIO
CALLSIGNS
Radio
Relay Vessels in charge of radio communications schedules will have the
following callsigns (with vessels' functions in brackets):
RACE
CONTROL ONE
: (Yacht Elektra: in charge of the daily morning
and evening radio position reporting schedules).
RACE
CONTROL TWO
: (Yacht Dolphin Six: backup for both the daily
morning and evening radio position reporting schedules and to relay reports as
necessary to Race Control One).
RACE
CONTROL
: in Hong Kong is any vessel designated by the Race Committee to give race
information such as postponements, premature starters etc., before and up to 30
minutes after the start of the Hainan Race. After this, it is the callsign used by the
Race Committee representatives in Hainan, who MAY be guarding 4060 kHz and 2638
kHz at the appropriate reporting times and MAY have 2182 kHz and 4125 kHz for
distress and calling.
RTHK
: is Radio Television Hong Kong, which will broadcast special weather forecasts
for boats in the Hainan Race on 3940 kHz.
These forecasts, provided by Hong Kong Observatory, will be broadcast at
the times shown below.
They will also give detailed weather information for each of the five
areas marked A to E on the map overleaf:
Date Time
Time
16th October 2002 1733
17th October 2002
0533
1733
18th October 2002
0533
1733
19th October 2002
0533
POSITION
REPORTING TIMES
Take
Position
Radio Schedule
0600
0603
1800
1803
Yachts
will be called in alphabetical order.
From
the start of the race until you are in port, EVEN IF YOU HAVE RETIRED AND ARE
HEADING BACK TO HONG KONG OR ANY OTHER PORT, you MUST comply with the radio
reporting schedules.
Frequencies/Channels:
Race
Communications (Primary)
4060 kHz
4060 kHz
Race
Communications (Secondary) 2638
kHz
2638 kHz
and
International ship‑to‑ship
International
distress and calling 2182
kHz 2182
kHz
RTHK
weather forecasts -
3940 kHz
Supplementary
distress and calling
4125 kHz
4417 kHz
Supplementary
distress and calling
6215 kHz
6516 kHz
International
ship‑to‑ship
6218.6 kHz
6218.6 kHz
Transmission
mode is J3E (SSB suppressed carrier) unless otherwise specified for special
purposes by your yacht's radio instruction manual.
VHF
channels: (transmit and receive)
Contacting
Race Committee
Channel 72
Distress
Channel 16
Ship‑to‑ship
Channel 99 (Hong Kong waters)
Channel 72 (International)
Channel 77 (International)
Civilian
aircraft band frequency
121.5 MHz (distress and calling VHF)
Military
aircraft frequency
243 MHz (distress and calling UHF)
Other
frequencies/channels which may be used will be advised at race
briefings.
Radio
Checks/Times:
All
times in these advisory notes are Hong Kong local time, which is the same as
Hainan local time ‑‑GMT/UTC plus eight hours.
PLEASE
NOTE:
Any boat which fails to have a satisfactory radio check recorded and which
subsequently fails to report their positions during the Hainan Race is unlikely
to find much sympathy in any subsequent protest hearing relating to position
reports.
PLEASE
ALSO NOTE
that the radio reporting schedules are being run for reasons of safety, and
therefore compliance with them is in your own interests in case of an emergency,
quite apart from being required by the Race Instructions.
The
Radio Operator's Routine:
PLEASE
REMEMBER TO OBSERVE THE THREE MINUTE SILENCE/LISTENING PERIOD FROM :00 TO :03
MINUTES PAST THE HOUR AND :30 TO :33 PAST THE HALF HOUR. THIS IS AN
INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY REQUIREMENT.
Your
typical day's radio work is as follows:
·
Run
engine to charge batteries.
·
Listen
to and note down the special weather forecast broadcast by Radio Television Hong
Kong (RTHK) at 0533 on 3940 kHz.
·
Obtain
your boat's 0600 hours position.
·
Listen
to and use for tuning if necessary the warning call from RACE CONTROL ONE at
0603.
·
Give
your boat's 0600 position when your boat is called beginning at 0603 on 4060
kHz. A sample call is: "YACHT ALPHA, this is RACE CONTROL ONE, your position
please." Your sample reply is: "RACE CONTROL ONE, this is YACHT ALPHA, position
two zero one zero, one one four two six, over." You should then hear your
position read back, so you can correct any mistakes in
reception.
·
Remember
to give about a one‑second break after pressing your transmitting switch before
you start speaking, otherwise the start of your speech may be clipped off by
your transmitter's self‑tuning.
·
If
you can't get through on 4060 kHz, RACE CONTROL ONE will call again for boats
not heard the first time after completing the roll.
·
Otherwise,
try again on 2638 kHz when RACE CONTROL ONE will run through the list of those
boats not heard previously.
·
If
your SSB is working, at worst you should be heard by other boats that can relay
your position. If you know or suspect you have an SSB problem during the race,
try calling any other boat on SSB and VHF (Channel 72) to ask them to relay your
position.
In the evening, repeat the procedure as above but with later times
as appropriate ie:
·
Listen
to and note down the special weather forecast broadcast by Radio Television Hong
Kong (RTHK) at 1745 on 3940 kHz.
·
Obtain
your boat's 1800 hours position.
·
Listen
to and use for tuning the warning call from RACE CONTROL ONE at 1803.
·
Give
your position to RACE CONTROL ONE when called on 4060 kHz.
Additional
Broadcast Information
:
All
boats are strongly advised to leave their radios on at all other times on SSB frequency 2182 in case emergency
assistance is requested by other boats during the race.
Other
Calls
:
Before
and during the race, information MAY be broadcast on VHF Channel 72 and SSB
frequency 4060 kHz.
The
Race Committee in Hainan MAY keep watch on VHF Channel 72 and SSB frequency 4060
kHz.
Advisory
calls we may ask you to make, if any, will be detailed during race briefings.
If
it all goes wrong
...
It
shouldn't, if your radio kit has been properly installed in a sensible place
away from the companionway, and you've had it checked and tested. But it might
if you manage to get water over the set - it's easy enough to protect it with a
spray barrier comprising a plastic chart cover or something similar. It also
might not work too well if you fail to charge your batteries.
If you
find yourself without SSB or VHF or both at some stage, for safety reasons alone
(let alone what a subsequent protest committee might do in its naturally
infinite wisdom) you should resort to communicating your predicament AND your
position to other boats by any other means to hand AND log the fact and any
signals you make.
PLEASE
NOTE that if your boat is the one with a radio problem, it is up to YOU to find
another boat to tell - leaving aside the dictates of prudent seamanship, good
manners and a willingness to help others, we cannot force other boats to drop
down or head up from their proper courses to go and have a look at you.
The
way back:
Because
boats return to Hong Kong according to their own timetables rather than in one
fleet, the trip home is outside the control of the Race Committee. Also, because
ship‑to‑shore communications are covered by Hong Kong Telecommunications
International's exclusive franchise, we cannot legally set up a radio base
station at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club for this purpose.
Those
of you who are licensed ham radio operators can, of course, arrange to make your
own contacts legally with Hong Kong‑based ham operators at whatever times and
frequencies you choose.
While
ashore and in the company of other yachties in Hainan or wherever, the most
sensible option would be to try to find other yachts returning home at or about
the same time as you. Set up your own radio schedules with them at the times
used in the race.
If
you wish, you can establish an account with Hong Kong Telecom so as to make
radio‑telephone calls to Hong Kong : please contact Hong Kong Telecom for
details.
Race
Office representatives in Hainan will keep a list of yachts' intended departure
times as they receive them, so that boats can team up for the return trip if
they so wish.
The
special RTHK weather forecasts will be broadcast daily at 0533 from
20th October to 24th October (inclusive) on 3940 for your
return journey.