Hey ya everybody
Well, we're back after another test sail/kayak trip (should I post trip reports?) And experiemtnted with radio checks out and around the Channel Islands. Guess what, nobody, least of all cruisers, monitors the radio!
Ed, I'm with Shawn, whatever radio you choose, get a case for it, more so for the waterproof ones. We managed to drown three Icom units out of four last summer up in Alaska after an afternoon of getting rolled. Personally, I'm a real believer of the EPIRBs. We have two personal, i.e. Catergory II units: the older 121 MHz MiniB (121 is homing only) and the 406 MHz ACR satellite EPIRB (406 MHz for satellite broadcast and 121 for terminal homing by the SAR units). The only reson I'm all about EPIRBs is that it's a very big ocean and it's hard to see anybody from the air. Blink while looking right at a patch of water and you missed the little spark of a flare, and kayaks from 1000 feet...a needle in the haystack. Sorry, my 2 cents worth of ranting, I feel better now.
best
us out here in diegoland
: I love my Icom M1-V. It's almost as small as the HX-460S...thinner, narrower,
: but taller. Both have Li-Ion batteries...as Nick said, they last all day.
: Heck, with sporadic use, I charge mine once every 2 months!
: It's going for about $190 at cyber-marine.com, and at defender:
: http://www.defender.com/cgi-bin/Web_store/web_store.cgi?catalog=253665&frames=yes&store=yes
: See also: http://www.kayakforum.com/cgi-bin/Technique/index.cgi/read/12948
: Phil has the waterproof (not submersible, I think?) Uniden Atlantis. At under
: $100 for waterproof, non-NiCad (NiMh instead), it's a good value. A
: plastic waterproof case is $20. Heck, Penny still never paid me for
: mine...you can have it if you're interested!
: Speaking of returning to Flathead Land, I was talking to Jerry's assistant at
: the Paddlefest. He was a FWP water safety officer the past few years. I
: quizzed him about VHF use, and he couldn't comment much. Most of Flathead
: County law enforcement uses the law enforcement bands, and not much
: VHF-Marine band monitoring. (esp. VHF-16) Lake County Sheriff always picks
: up my radio checks when I'm on the south end of the lake. I talked to one
: of the fishing charters and Pointer Scenic cruises last summer, and they
: said most of the commercial VHF users stay on VHF-68.
: Glacier Park Boats pretty much stays on VHF-16 in the park...which would
: cover you on McD (both Apgar and the Hotel area), St. Mary, Josephine,
: Swiftcurrent, and Two Med...at least during touron season.
: I love my drysuit!!!! If you don't sweat a lot in a rain coat, you might like
: the coated nylon Kokatat Meridian. If you're prone to sweating, go for the
: GTX Meridian or Dura.
: Ask Yuhas--you might want a tuilik, too! I can get yellow neoprene that would
: match the new Romany! 
: Shawn
