I went to get my ham license in 1983 just as I was getting ready to head to the South Pacific. Back then you had to pass the Morse Code at 13 words a minute, plus the written test. I was in Antigua and flew to San Juan, PR for the sole purpose of taking the test. I passed the Morse Code, then took the written test. Afterward, the woman told me that I didn't pass, and would have to wait 30 days and try again. I told her, "I flew here from Antigua just to take this test, and I'm sure I passed. I'm sailing next week for the Pacific and will never have a chance to take it again." I pleaded with her to recheck. Thankfully, she acquiesced. It turns out she used the wrong template to check my answers - most folks were taking the test to go from Technician to General whereas I was taking the test that went from nothing to General. I've always been thankful that I had the confidence to challenge her (That said, if she told me I failed the Morse Code, I probably would have believed her. I think they tried to trick you with intentionally mis-spelling Yuma, Arizona as Huma, Arizona and to this day I think it is a mean trick!)

The SSB was a godsend. The SSB cruising nets were very active in those days, and the Maritime Mobile nets in Hawaii and Seattle very helpful. I always felt confident that I could raise someone in case of emergency, and the daily cruisers nets were always a highlight. When you eventually met someone you knew from the radio it felt like you were already good friends. Later on in the Southern Ocean we spoke daily to the Maritime Mobile folks and they would keep our families back home abreast of our progress.

Through the SSCA I heard of an antenna designed by a guy named Larry Friendly, hence the "Friendly Antenna." It was tuned to the common frequency used, and consisted of a piece of aluminum tube cut to exactly 1/4 of a 20-meter wavelength. 20 meters is 65' 7". You want to tune to a quarter of that, so you cut the aluminum pole to exactly 16 feet 4 and 3/4 inches. I bought the pole from a hardware store in Panama, made a crude mount out of lexan and the aft railing, and it worked fine. We also had a dynaplate ground. The Maritime Mobile net folks said our signal was amongst the best they heard. This was back in the 80s so I imagine there are better solutions now, but having a good Icom radio, tuner, the 1/4 wavelength antenna and good wiring was a combination that would still work well today.

I've always thought how cool is it that you stick a piece of aluminum pipe in the air that resonates with radio waves that are exactly four times its length, and voila, talk to your family back home.

We still have an SSB but have largely shifted to Iridium for basic weather and communications. Still, I admire the capabilities of the SSB and in many ways miss the sense of community it helped engender.