You must be a young 'un. lol
When I started playing this game, we had AM marine radios, VHF had not been invented, or wasn't available to yachts then. When the CG switched us all over to VHF it was to limit the range of the signals to 'line of sight'. With the AM set, when the propagation was right, one could call a Mayday in Frisco and ten CG stations in SoCal would answer, screwing up your comms with the local coasties.
Of course, as always happens, the coasties built higher antennas and more powerful radios, and the same thing can happen these days. Go figure?
I knew Moitessier pretty well. Our families spent 8 months or so cruising and hanging out together, from Tahiti to the Bay of Islands, NZ. I thought him extremely sane, possibly the sanest person I've ever met. Do remember though; he WAS a Frenchman. He certainly had the ability be alone if it pleased him, though not a need it seemed. For most of our time together I hadn't a clue that he was a world renowned sailor, until a friend in NZ gave me his book. His attitude to his fame? Hands raised palms upward with a shrug, "Big deal".[/QUOTE
You continue to amaze. Moitessier is portrayed in the press as an eccentric, who sailed on after a circumnavigation and dropping out of a race he was winning. According to the press he then settled in Tahiti with a women and lived his life in near poverty. I'm not judgmental about this. I get that to the normal world this would constitute a level of insanity. And that to the sailing / adventurous world this would be an act of independence and accomplishment. I'm so envious that you actually knew the man. I BTW I think he was completely sane.