Monitor more channels than 16

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 Many boaters seem to monitor only channel 16, or even not that. However, you may want to monitor a few extra channels, especially if you travel to Canada. A few weeks ago we were transiting the Strait of Juan De Fuca to Victoria. There was a large Canadian navy ship patrolling up and down the border. Some pleasure boat got to close to her for comfort and the radio operator tried multiple times to hail the pleasure boat. However, they hailed them on 68 not on 16. The pleasure boat never responded. It seems like non standard practice and perhaps it was a mistake but every modern marine radio should have a scan function. You probably want to monitor at least 16, 9 (the new hailing channel), 13 (commercial hailing channel), 22 (US coast guard announcements), and apparently 68 if you are in Canada. 

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