I saw a long tuba horn like implement that Dave Gibson held to his ear and stuck out the window. He yelled " Pam, Pam, Pam" into the small end, I thought he was nuts because we all know its Pan, Pan , Pan. But lo and behold after a few moments a gorgeous women named Pam appeared, and said " This thread has gone on way to long."

Dan, enjoy yourself and stay safe. You are the real deal.

You're right MMSI is junk for calling boats, and it is as Larry says, not user friendly for recreational boaters. Certainly not needed on small craft without transponders. I have had it from the get go and never used it to initiate a call or to receive one in all these years. The real motivation for my post was my recent purchase of a new Handheld with MMSI and a GPS built into it. Incredible! I was given this choice. Use the MMSI number that the fix mounted VHF has already assigned to it or get a new one if I was going to sell my boat or use the handheld with many boats. It brought the issue of MMSI's to my mind and hence my post.

fair winds and btw, I really have been on Drift Away and sailed up to her without a flotilla as support.