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Knowing the phonetic alphabet is a very handy skill. Should you find yourself in a situation where you are trying to get a message through to a shore-based radio operator or someone on another vessel and your signal is not clear, you can spell out the most important words of your message phonetically.
Two very important words to know phonetically would be your vessels' name and the word MAYDAY. A mayday call is given when you are in a DISTRESS situation. This is a situation where your vessel is in dire and imminent danger and you are requesting immediate assistance. Basically, it means if you don't get help now, everyones' life is at risk. You may only have one chance to signal your need before you vessel goes down.
MAYDAY = Mike Alpha Yankee Delta Alpha Yankee
The Phonetic Alphabet
A = ALPHA
B - BRAVO
C = CHARLIE
D = DELTA
E = ECHO
F = FOXTROT
G = GOLF
H = HOTEL
I - INDIA
J = JULIET
K = KILO
L = LIMA
M = MIKE
N = NOVEMBER
O = OSCAR
P = PAPA
Q = QUEBEC
R = ROMEO
S = SIERRA
T = TANGO
U = UNIFORM
V = VICTOR
W = WHISKY
X = X-RAY
Y = YANKEE
Z = ZULU
