CH 16VHF radio prompter
In an emergency, nobody remembers the protocol. Skipper up puts the exact words on your screen — with your vessel’s name, MMSI and live GPS position already in place. Just press PTT and read.
The problem
You learned it once, for the licence. Then years went by without saying it out loud. When it finally matters you are tired, frightened and — for most of us — speaking a second language into a microphone.
“What comes after MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY?”
The order matters. Whoever is listening is waiting for it.
“What is my MMSI again?”
Nine digits you have never once said aloud.
“How do I say a position?”
Digit by digit. Degrees, then minutes. North before east.
“DSC first, or voice first?”
Which button, for how many seconds, and which channel after that.
Skipper up answers all four — before you have to ask.
How it works
Vessel name and MMSI to start. Add the life raft colour, persons on board, rescue coordination centres, marinas and a shore contact for complete scripts. Two minutes, in harbour, with a coffee.
Distress, urgency or routine — colour-coded the way radio procedure ranks them. Red means MAYDAY. No menus to dig through with shaking hands.
The whole call, word for word, with your details and position in place. First what to do on the radio set, then what to say, then what to do on the boat.
Try it
This is the real MAYDAY script from the app. Type a vessel name, pick what has gone wrong, and hear how it is meant to sound.
VHF channelChannel 16 — the international distress channel.
Press PTT and say:
MAYDAY, MAYDAY, MAYDAY.This is Blue Horizon, Blue Horizon, Blue Horizon.MMSI: .MAYDAY, Blue Horizon.Position: 32:10:24N, 034:46:12E.Nature of distress: Fire and explosion.Assistance required: require immediate assistance.Over.
This browser has no voice of its own to read with — the app brings one.
The calls
The wording follows standard marine radiotelephony procedure, as taught on the radio operator’s course — and each script was checked line by line against the source.
And between calls: the VHF channel table, pre-departure checklists and the GMDSS routine radio checks.
Features
The GPS fix drops straight into the script and is read the way the radio wants it. No fix? Type it in, or simply describe where you are.
Every script has a Read aloud button. A natural English voice that lives on your phone — hear the rhythm before you key the mic.
It installs to your home screen and keeps working fully offline — scripts, voice and all. Where you need it most, there is no 4G.
Each step is labelled by where it happens, so you know what to reach for before reading a single word.
Coastal and international passages, the annual licensing, the skipper’s file and the GMDSS routine radio checks. Progress is saved per boat.
Which channel for what — distress, port operations, coast stations, ship to ship — one tap from the last distress call.
Charter skipper? Keep a profile for each vessel and switch with a tap. Your voyage details come along.
The app speaks English, Hebrew or French. The scripts stay in English — that is how they go out over the radio.
Sign in to carry your boats between devices. Or don’t — the app works in full without an account.
Chandleries, fuel docks, supermarkets, restaurants, car hire, marinas and anchorages — recommended by where you are.
Night mode
One tap turns the whole app deep red on black — the way a chart table is lit — so reading a script at 2 a.m. does not cost you twenty minutes of night vision.
Pricing
Out for the weekend? Chartering for a week? Own the boat? Pay for the time you are at sea — and start with 5 hours free.
The weekend sail
$1.99
Two days of full access, for a day trip or a weekend away.
The charter week
$4.99
A whole week, for a charter or a holiday passage.
Your own boat
$23.99
The whole season and the one after. About $2 a month.
Any pass — even 48 hours — keeps your vessel details saved. On the free trial they are cleared when it ends.
Privacy
It is shown to you and read out on your device. It is never stored and never sent to us.
The reading happens on your phone. The words being read are never sent to any server.
No ads, no analytics, no advertising trackers, no third-party cookies.
See it, change it or delete it at any time. If you made an account, you can delete that yourself too.
Install
Skipper up is a web app. There is nothing to download from a store — open it once and keep it on your home screen.
Open it once while you still have signal. It fetches the voice, and after that it needs nothing.Open the app
Questions
No. It is an aid for preparing and practising your calls, and a prompter when you make them. You still need the licence, the training and your own judgement — and the radio has to be operated according to the law.
No. It is not connected to your radio in any way. It shows you the words and reads them to you; you press PTT and speak.
Yes. After the first visit the whole app works offline, the voice included. Your phone’s GPS does not need a mobile signal either.
Yes. The MMSI is optional — it matters for vessels with a DSC set. The voice procedures are the same either way.
English is the working language of marine radio: it is what rescue centres and other vessels expect to hear. The app around the scripts can be in your own language.
You start with a free 5-hour trial, once every 3 months. After that you pick a pass: 48 hours for $1.99, 7 days for $4.99, or a full year for $23.99. None of them shows ads.
When you start using the app — not when you install it. So you can put it on your phone today and keep the trial for the day you sail. When the trial ends, the details you entered are cleared; any paid pass keeps them saved.
The procedures are the international ones, so they work anywhere. The ready-made lists of rescue coordination centres lean towards the Mediterranean, and you can always type in any station by hand.
5 hours free. The clock starts when you start using it.
