Ahoy

A traditional spoken hail used to attract attention at sea or between a vessel and the shore.

It can follow the subject being hailed, as in “ship ahoy”, and historically helped initiate communication before the message itself. “Land ho” rather than “land ahoy” is the better-known traditional cry for reporting land in sight.

Ahoy remains widely recognised but is not a substitute for the standard calling, urgency or distress procedures used on marine radio. In modern use it is often informal, ceremonial or recreational.