A marine radio comprises a memory for storing a message, in particular, a voice mail message, suitable for transmission to a second marine radio, a communication device for transmitting and receiving radio communications and a controller coupled to the memory and communication device. The controller is operable to cause the communication device to poll the second marine radio (e.g., by initiating a DSC individual call). When in range, the second marine radio may receive and acknowledge the poll. Upon receiving acknowledgement from the second marine radio, the controller causes the communication device to transmit the stored message to the second marine radio