Take a brand new $650 phone on me that will, at the very least, get beat up and probably won't work offshore anyway? No thanks. (I can buy 5 VHF radios for what that would cost me!). IP67 is a step in the right direction but it's not much waterproofing (I'm getting one at the end of the month, tho). I really don't see the point in requiring a phone on your person. We normally carry one on the boat in a pelican box in the trampoline pocket...handy if you have to make a left turn and land on a beach somewhere but it's not any good any significant distance off the beach.

I do see the point in carrying a VHF radio on you. A leg pocket is a pretty decent place to put it out of the way.