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Radio: channel 16, Mayday, Pan-Pan
Radio is the language of the boat with fixed rules. They are not formality: they exist so a message still arrives when the signal is poor and nobody can ask you to repeat it.
Channel 16 and the shape of a call
Channel 16 is for calling and distress, after which you move to a working channel. A call runs: the other station's name three times, then this is, then your own name three times, then over. Short, slow, and always in that order.
The three urgencies
Mayday for grave and imminent danger to life or vessel. Pan-Pan for urgency without immediate danger to life, such as engine failure in a difficult area. Sécurité for safety messages, such as a floating obstruction or a gale warning.
What belongs in a distress call
Mayday three times, this is, vessel name three times, then position, nature of distress, number of people on board, and the help required. The position comes early on purpose: if the signal fails, it is the one thing that has to have arrived.
DSC and voice
The distress button sends your identity and position automatically but does not replace the voice call. Press first, then speak. And both only work if the identity is programmed into the set and the set is connected to a position source.
What this has to do with insurance
A distress call is also a timestamp: it records when you reported which situation, and coast radio stations log it. For a later claim that is independent confirmation of your account, and it costs nothing beyond the habit of calling early rather than late when in doubt.
