It is probably more of an offshore versus coastal thing. Ham use and marine SSB are common for Newport/Bermuda and Marblehead/Halifax races. Regular New England to Caribbean cruisers are on HF nets and there are or have been regional nets I have heard about down south. There isn't much ham need for the coastal daysailer, casual cruiser or ICW traveller. Near coastal to inland traffic will be monitoring marine VHF.
That's an exciting program to have fun with radio! Can we activate from any region? I live in Gujarat state in VU Land, my state has huge 1600 KM of coastal area to take benefit. Btw can it be considered from River Boat? Thanks in advance. Rajesh Vagadia VU2EXP
BOTA is also already taken! Beaches on the Air (BOTA) have been active since about 2016. Welcome to Beaches On The Air - BOTA | Beaches On The Air Maybe then can go with Watercraft on the Air (WOTA) since they allow ANYTHING that floats.
I will be refitting a 33 foot, aluminum sail sloop with a cutter rig over the next few months. Spring launch. Planning to use my IC-7200 or perhaps Yaseu Ft-857. I love digital and due to lack of coastal repeaters in Newfoundland and Labrador. I am hoping JS8call can push APRS packets on a regular routine. Keep my family in the loop to track my QTH. Will see about doing activations during longer transits. 73, fair seas and following winds old salts!
A bit of a tangent, but if you're doing longer transits and want to keep family/friends in loop and track your position consider investing in a Garmin InReach or Iridium Go. Also, I would suggest going with the ICOM for easy integration with the ICOM AT-130 or AT-140.
