2019 LOOR Racing Guide

Page 50 Lake Ontario Offshore Racing Guide
GMDSS is a very important safety system that can be used by sailors,
whether cruising or racing, around the world. GMDSS is something that any
ii, iii
sailor should learn about
There is one more component that uses MMSI and that is AIS.
AIS, or Automatic Identification System, transmits data about a vessel,
including; MMSI, vessel name, course and speed. Receivers can display the
text of the data received or display them on a chart plotter/Multifunction
Display. This data transmission was designed and implemented to help
collision avoidance. AIS equipment can calculate the Closest Point of
Approach (CPA) and Time to Closest Point of Approach (CPA). AIS alarms
can be created when either CPA or TCPA is below the set threshold. This
information can certainly help with determining avoidance while lowering
the adverse impact to the race because of the long lead time. Both receive-only
and receive/transmit AIS units are on the market. There are various classes
for AIS transmitters depending whether AIS is mandated or optional on the
vessel. If you are thinking about installing an AIS transmitter, you should
really research AIS because of the various options and configuration that
are possible. Consult a reputable marine electronics dealer.
Many LOOR racers are installing AIS either receive-only or active to help
with navigating safety across the commercial traffic lanes. There are web
and smart phone apps that provide tracking of AIS transmissions 2.
One tie-in between MMSI, VHF-FM Marine Radio and AIS is the fact that
the MMSI of the nearby vessel is included in its AIS transmission. If you
want or need to make radio contact with a nearby vessel with an AIS
transmission, you just use the DSC feature of your radio including the
MMSI of the vessel and their radio will react to it.
You never know when this might come in handy. During a course at the
Humber Bay Sailing Centre on Electronic Navigation presented by long
time world cruisers, Ken and Carol Gillstrom, mentioned three ways to
attempt to get the attention of that nearby big ship on the radio,
R Put out a call describing the vessel and asking them to response.
R Not much chance of a response
R Put out a call to the ship by name obtained from AIS.
A little better chance of a response
R Put out a DSC call with the vessel’s MMSI obtained from AIS. The
best change of a response.
If you are participating in a LOOR Category 3 race, you are required to
have a 25-watt VHF-FM marine radio, under the LOOR Offshore
Special Regulations (OSR) {3.29}iv,v, the safety requirements. If it is
DSC capable, you are required to have a MMSI.
2
For a list see the web site
https://www.marineinsight.com/know-more/top-8-websites-to-track-your-ship/