Here’s a question for you Fellas… You set up your vehicle, pack the troops and provisions and off you go. You regularly check in using your HF radio, “Here. Going there. Beer’s cold, flies are bad.”

Have you ever wondered if any of your troops, Navigator included, would be able to use the radio to call for help if anything was to happen to you?

We’ve had past incidents where the Navigator is faced with calling for help but she isn’t familiar with anything other than turning on the radio and yelling for help. Changing channel? Nup! Setting the antenna to the correct frequency? Nup! Because you have never spent time to familiarise the most important people in your life with basic radio usage.

This could apply also to those who travel with youngsters. Would they know what to do if something horrid was to happen to a parent in the middle of nowhere? Or would things descend into panic? Perhaps you should spend some time with your other travellers, before heading away, familiarising them with your radio equipment and basic radio usage and also, if you carry a Personal Locator Beacon, how to find it and activate it. PLB? Yes! Every remote traveller should have one.

Spending some time doing this may save your life and the lives of others one day.

Worth considering? What do you think?