Channel 22 and the Cruisers' Net

Here in La Paz we have a rather interesting way of communicating as well as getting our local gringo boaters news.

P.S. Special thanks to the captain's coworkers 
whose gift made a very nice hand held vhf radio possible

Each morning at 8:00 a.m., Monday through Saturday, channel 22 on the VHF radio becomes information central for La Paz cruisers. Various long time locals take turns as "net control;" this means, in theory, anyone wanting to address "the fleet" must first give their boat name and be recognized by the net controller. The controller begins by asking if anyone has an emergency or immediate medical issue. Thank goodness there is rarely a response. Then he or she goes down a pre-ordained list which includes daily tides and weather, both local as well as Sea of Cortez and the islands.
From there it's on to mail call and requests for anyone going north to take mail to the States or another Mexican port of call.  Next boaters have an opportunity to announce arrivals and departures and to make requests for rides out of La Paz, either by car or boat. There is a lost and found section (one grateful traveler found his missing passport and immigration card that way) and a time for Club Cruceros and general announcements, no advertising, por favor.
Probably the next most popular part is "local assistance" where boat owners, many new to the area, request information to help find a myriad of items and services, everything from repair people to boat parts to things like where to find a jar of peanut butter larger than 6 oz. and where one might find bird seed (yes, the last two requests came from Milagro). Actually the Club Cruceros website has an excellent services page which compiles much of this information. You can check it out if you like: clubcruceros.org.
Last, but not least, we have "swaps and trades".  Only Mexican citizens or licensed businesses may legally sell anything in Mexico so items must be either swapped or traded for "coconuts", apparently the legal tender among cruisers in Mexico.
At this point the net controller gives a "last call," and then reopens channel 22 for general use.
That's when the party line begins. Land lubbers as well as boaters use channel 22 to reach other VHF users.  If I want to reach S. on Two Can Play I turn to channel 22, press the call button and announce "Two Can Play, Two Can Play, this is Milagro."  If she is monitoring her radio she answers, "This is Two Can Play, Milagro,  what channel?"  I then choose a channel, say 17 (avoiding channels used for emergency, shipping or the port captain, as well as others) and we both switch to that channel where we can chat. Upon completing our business we switch back to 22 which in La Paz  is a hailing channel, only.
It's a good system but has a couple of drawbacks.  If the person you are trying to contact is not monitoring channel 22,  there's no way to leave a message.  The other issue is that there is nothing private about this chatter.  Anyone can "follow" you to another channel and hear your conversation, so one wants to be discreet. It's taken me some time to feel comfortable using the VHF, but by now my cell phone is primarily and organizer and I rely on VHF for most communication.