Do You Need NAVTEX for Coastal Sailing?

Plenty of skippers cover serious coastal mileage — right around Europe, say — leaning entirely on the fixed VHF and a phone. "We're coastal, it's area A1, who needs NAVTEX? There's almost always internet, and the radio works fine." I used to think the same. Then the radio started talking, and I couldn't make out a word of it.

The case skippers make against NAVTEX

It's an easy argument to make, and on the surface it sounds reasonable:

• "We're coastal." Long passages, but always within sight or a short hop of land — area A1, VHF range of a coast station.
• "The VHF works fine." A good fixed set, well-sited aerial, clear comms with marinas and coastguard.
• "There's almost always internet." A phone with signal and a weather app most of the time.

All true — and all beside the point, because none of it solves the actual problem with relying on voice broadcasts for safety information.

What actually happens on the radio

Here's the situation that changed my mind, and it has happened more than once.

And that's the good outcome — the time you catch it at all. Other nights you simply sleep through a broadcast and never know it happened. A voice message on the radio exists for a few seconds and is gone. If you weren't listening, weren't sure of the words, or were on the wrong channel, it's lost.

A NAVTEX receiver does none of that to you. It sits there like a tireless watchkeeper, picks up every message in range, and hands it to you in writing — to read when you're ready, as many times as you like. Nothing missed, nothing mis-heard.

What NAVTEX actually is

NAVTEX (Navigational Telex) is an international, automated service that delivers Maritime Safety Information (MSI) to ships as printed or on-screen text. It is a core part of the GMDSS. The information it carries includes:

• Navigational warnings — new hazards, buoys out of position, wrecks, naval exercises, lights not working.
• Meteorological warnings and forecasts — gale and storm warnings, area forecasts.
• Search-and-rescue information — distress and SAR broadcasts affecting your area.

Why it earns its place even close to shore

The value isn't about being far offshore — it's about not missing things:

• Written, not spoken. No accent, no static, no automated voice to decode. You read it.
• Automatic and continuous. It keeps watch while you sleep, helm, cook or navigate. No one has to be sitting by the radio.
• A permanent record. The message is still there an hour later, to re-read and act on — not gone in five seconds.
• No connectivity needed. It works with zero mobile or internet signal, which is exactly when you most need official information.
• It catches the local, the official and the unexpected. The nav warning about the unlit buoy in tonight's anchorage; the SAR broadcast you'd otherwise sleep through.

"But isn't the internet enough?"

The internet and weather apps are genuinely excellent — for weather. But they are not the same thing as NAVTEX. Apps don't carry official navigational warnings, local hazard notices or search-and-rescue broadcasts for the patch of sea you're actually crossing, and they stop the moment your signal does. NAVTEX is the official, complete channel for safety information, and it keeps working when the bars on your phone disappear. Treat the phone as a useful extra, and let NAVTEX do the job it was built for.

Setting it up isn't hard

The one objection with any substance is "it's a faff to set up." It really isn't. You choose the stations relevant to your cruising area (by their letter), the right NAVAREA, and the message categories you want — and the most important categories can't be turned off anyway, so you can't accidentally silence the messages that matter.

So: fit yourself a NAVTEX, learn the handful of settings, and sail on — safe, and properly informed.

Frequently asked questions

What is NAVTEX and what does it do?

NAVTEX (Navigational Telex) is an international, automated service that delivers Maritime Safety Information — navigational warnings, weather warnings and forecasts, and search-and-rescue information — to ships as printed or on-screen text. It is part of the GMDSS, receives every message in range automatically, skips duplicates, and gives you each one in writing.

Do I need NAVTEX for coastal (area A1) sailing?

You are not legally required to carry it on a small pleasure craft in A1, and many coastal skippers rely on VHF and the internet. But it's well worth having: voice VHF safety broadcasts are easy to miss, mis-hear or sleep through, while NAVTEX delivers the same information in writing, automatically and around the clock, with no connectivity needed.

What frequencies does NAVTEX use?

518 kHz internationally (in English), 490 kHz for local-language broadcasts in many areas, and 4209.5 kHz in some tropical regions. A NAVTEX receiver monitors these automatically — you don't tune it like a voice radio.

Isn't the internet enough instead of NAVTEX?

Apps are great for weather but don't carry official navigational warnings, local hazards or SAR broadcasts, and they stop when your signal does. NAVTEX is the official, complete channel for safety information and works with no connectivity at all.

Is NAVTEX hard to set up?

No. You select the relevant stations and message categories — and the critical ones (navigational, meteorological, SAR) can't be switched off. Modern GPS-connected receivers auto-select the nearest stations as you move, so there's very little to manage.

Related reading

• EPIRB & Distress Signals at Sea — the rest of the safety-communications picture
• What to Do If You Hear a MAYDAY — handling distress traffic on VHF
• Short Range Certificate (SRC) — The Complete Guide — the VHF/GMDSS qualification
• Understanding Tides — more coastal-passage essentials