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USCG now specifically recommending GPS
Interesting to note the line "carry a GPS" in the following release:
(and I continue to believe that every sal****er boat should have at least a hand held VHF; to the point where a "requirement" wouldn't be unreasonable) Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District Press Release Date: Aug. 14, 2005 Contact: Petty Officer Mike Zolzer 206-220-7237 COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR 24-FOOT RECREATIONAL BOAT DISORIENTED IN FOG SEATTLE - The Coast Guard continues to search for a 24-foot recreational boat with five people on board lost in the fog near the entrance of the Quillayute River, Wash., Saturday evening. The master of the boat contacted a Clallam County 911 dispatcher reporting he was disoriented in the fog and in need of assistance. The 911 dispatcher then contacted the Coast Guard. Coast Guard Station Quillayute River launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat and Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles launched a Dolphin helicopter to search Saturday night. The crews could not locate the vessel because of the dense fog. The Coast Guard sent urgent marine information broadcasts to mariners throughout the night and into this morning about the missing boat. The Coast Guard continues to search with two 47-foot motor life boats from Station Quillayute River, the Coast Guard Cutter Osprey, an 87-foot patrol boat stationed in Port Townsend, Wash., and a C-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, Calif. The recreational boat did not have a VHF radio on board. If you have information regarding this case please call the Coast Guard at 206-220-7001. The Coast Guard would like to remind boaters to equip there vessels for safe operations in a quickly changing marine environment. The summer months along the Oregon and Washington coast are known for quick moving dense fog. The Coast Guard recommends vessels operating offshore should have low visibility navigation equipment. At a minimum they should have a global positioning system and a VHF marine band radio. Radar and global positioning systems, while moderately expensive, can guide boaters safely to shore during thick fog. A VHF marine band radio is essential for contacting the Coast Guard during an emergency. The Coast Guard can track a VHF marine band radio broadcast to its source which can speed rescuers to your location. Also when a boater broadcasts a call for help on channel 16, they are heard by everyone around them that is also monitoring the radio. Compare this to a cell phone which only enables you to contact one person and cannot currently be tracked. Additional boating information can be found at http://www.uscgboating.org/index. ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America. View this document online U.S. Coast Guard - 13th District 13th District Public Information Site |
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On Sun, 14 Aug 2005 21:49:03 GMT, Don White
wrote: wrote: Interesting to note the line "carry a GPS" in the following release: (and I continue to believe that every sal****er boat should have at least a hand held VHF; to the point where a "requirement" wouldn't be unreasonable) Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District Our Cdn Power Squadron instructor said a VHF is the second most important item after a compass. I have the little Standard Horizon 460S handheld but will probably get a mounted version for my modest cruiser. Gotta have the VHF - no way around it. |
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wrote in message ups.com... Interesting to note the line "carry a GPS" in the following release: (and I continue to believe that every sal****er boat should have at least a hand held VHF; to the point where a "requirement" wouldn't be unreasonable) Office of Public Affairs U.S. Coast Guard Thirteenth District Press Release Date: Aug. 14, 2005 Contact: Petty Officer Mike Zolzer 206-220-7237 COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR 24-FOOT RECREATIONAL BOAT DISORIENTED IN FOG SEATTLE - The Coast Guard continues to search for a 24-foot recreational boat with five people on board lost in the fog near the entrance of the Quillayute River, Wash., Saturday evening. The master of the boat contacted a Clallam County 911 dispatcher reporting he was disoriented in the fog and in need of assistance. The 911 dispatcher then contacted the Coast Guard. Coast Guard Station Quillayute River launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat and Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles launched a Dolphin helicopter to search Saturday night. The crews could not locate the vessel because of the dense fog. The Coast Guard sent urgent marine information broadcasts to mariners throughout the night and into this morning about the missing boat. The Coast Guard continues to search with two 47-foot motor life boats from Station Quillayute River, the Coast Guard Cutter Osprey, an 87-foot patrol boat stationed in Port Townsend, Wash., and a C-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, Calif. The recreational boat did not have a VHF radio on board. If you have information regarding this case please call the Coast Guard at 206-220-7001. The Coast Guard would like to remind boaters to equip there vessels for safe operations in a quickly changing marine environment. The summer months along the Oregon and Washington coast are known for quick moving dense fog. The Coast Guard recommends vessels operating offshore should have low visibility navigation equipment. At a minimum they should have a global positioning system and a VHF marine band radio. Radar and global positioning systems, while moderately expensive, can guide boaters safely to shore during thick fog. A VHF marine band radio is essential for contacting the Coast Guard during an emergency. The Coast Guard can track a VHF marine band radio broadcast to its source which can speed rescuers to your location. Also when a boater broadcasts a call for help on channel 16, they are heard by everyone around them that is also monitoring the radio. Compare this to a cell phone which only enables you to contact one person and cannot currently be tracked. Additional boating information can be found at http://www.uscgboating.org/index. ### The U.S. Coast Guard is a military, maritime, multi-mission service within the Department of Homeland Security dedicated to protecting the safety and security of America. View this document online U.S. Coast Guard - 13th District 13th District Public Information Site As you know we are looking for a 20-21 footer to tide us over until we retire and buy our house on the water with dock (I am seeing the light at the end working tunnel already). It is surprising to see the number of these smaller boats on the market in our area (SW Lake Erie) that do not include a fixed mount VHF or a GPS. It seems that many entry level boaters (mainly buying the 19~23 foot boats) rely mainly on cell phones only. Your story tells folks why both are necessary. All of our boats in the past had at least a fixed mount VHF (although cell phones were not as available back when we had our smaller boats). The 27+ foot boats we owned had Loran or GPS, with the 32 footer also having radar and chartplotter. You can now outfit a boat with a fixed mount VHF with weather scan and a 5~8 foot 3~6 db antenna for under $200 and a portable GPS unit for under $150............$350 for basic safety. The systems are very easy to install yet folks often times spend this money on a nice stereo system for the boat. Go figure. Unfortunately for all of us these are the same folks who take up the Coast Guards time and money on search and rescue missions as Chuck posted. They also are the ones who don't know the rules of the road or bothered to take basic boating safety classes. BTW: Our vacation on Kelley's Island this past week was fantastic and we will not be buying the Renker 20 footer. ;-) |
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