If you have an emergency while boating, what is the first thing you should do? Hopefully, you answered “Call the Coast Guard on VHF-FM marine radio Channel 16,” because this should always be your primary way of communicating a distress alert. If you answered, “Dial *CG on my cell phone,” you would be wrong. The Coast Guard has discontinued *CG, except in Alaska, and says boaters with cell phones should dial 911 in an emergency only if they don’t have access to a VHF-FM marine radio. Learn why the Coast Guard discourages the use of cell phones for distress alerting, and encourages all boaters to have a VHF-FM marine radio.