The nautical and historical origins of May Day

Today is May Day, the first day of the month of May. We'll talk about the day's historical origins as a celebration. Then we'll delve into its contemporary nautical meaning. The expression "mayday" has saved lives for over a century, when uttered over VHF radio as a distress signal to the Coast Guard.

Transcript of this show available here: http://shipreport.nfshost.com/audio/Transcript050124.pdf