When in your boat you need to minimize the risk for yourself, family and friends.

When you are in your boat you are fairly isolated, but if you are in trouble you need to attract someone's attention.

If you have other boats nearby you may be able to communicate your troubles. However, if no one is close, then you need a better way of attracting the right kind of attention.

The answer is simple. You need a marine VHF radio installed on your boat or at least a portable hand-held unit. Both are ideal.

These sets are reliable but two would be better than one. The greatest advantage of a marine radio over a cell phone is the marine radio is like talking on a party line. Everyone nearby can hear you and possibly someone could provide assistance to you. The range of fixed VHF is about five miles depending on the height of the antenna. They are all rated at 25 watts. The Coast Guard has much higher antennas allowing them to receive and transmit greater distances.

If you rely strictly on a cell phone, it may not work. You might be out of range of a cell phone tower. The area geography might make a cell phone unusable. The Coast Guard could have trouble locating you.

Your position can't be determined by the use of a radio direction finder. A direction finder could locate your position over a marine radio, but have no means of locating a cell phone. A 911 call would probably be directed to police or fire, which might delay any water rescue response. A cell call is not heard by anyone but the person on the other end of the line.

If your only means of communication on the water is a cell phone I would take precautions before leaving the dock to make sure your cell phone's battery is fully charged. Keep your phone in a watertight bag that floats and have the Coast Guard and other appropriate emergency numbers in a handy place.

If you do have to use your cell for an emergency call, give your cell phone number, boat's name, description, location, nature of the emergency and number of people on board the boat. Speak slowly and repeat your cell phone number before ending the calls.

The Cape Coral Power Squadron has available loaner life jackets for children supplied by Boat/US.

For safety's sake, learn some practical and useful knowledge of good seamanship by taking a Boat Smart Course offered by the Power Squadron. The squadron is open from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Saturday at 917 S.E. 47th Terrace.

For more details, call 549-9754.

— Bill Jefferson was former commander of the Cape Coral Power Squadron.