AIS as well as giving CPA and TCPA does give the name and call sign of the
ship. This allows the sailer the option of calling the ship by name on the
radio which is more likely to get a answer. It also gives a much bigger
window to take evasive action. Line of sight from a mast mounted VHF antenna
on the sailboat to the antenna on a Deepsea ship is a great distance. My
guess is you will *see* anything within 40-50 miles. Thats close to a couple
of hours notice for the fastest containership.

BTW Panbo (http://www.panbo.com/yae/archives/cat_ais.html) is reporting
Class B AIS transponders for $500 (maybe).

SaltAir