Boating Safety Aimed at Anglers - From Coast Guard Waypoints

Whether an angler prefers fishing for bass, salmon, or trout, one thing’s for sure: it’s important to pay attention to safety when trying to haul anything on board. The U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that, approximately 25 percent of recreational boating deaths were related to vessels that were engaged in fishing activity. According to Jeff Hoedt, Chief of the U.S. Coast Guard Office of Boating Safety, “Boating safety among anglers is a very important outreach initiative. All of us in the collective boating community must take a role in making sure that the estimated 19.5 million anglers on our waterways understand the potential hazards of angling while boating—and how to avoid them.” (From the 2001 U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation survey, available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2002pubs/FHW01.pdf, p. 83.)

Best Dam Rescue - Video

These people are cool under pressure. Coasties. This video will give a little feel for what the Coasties do. Dwayne

Coast Guard signals boaters to prepare for emergencies

From Coast Guard News

Coast Guard signals boaters to prepare for emergencies

SEATTLE - The Coast Guard is reminding boaters everywhere of the importance of having the proper safety gear aboard while boating; especially of having an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB.)

This came from the Coast Guard News Blog. It is very informative.

Dwayne

Daniel Barclay, M-A quiz bowl star dies in Boating Accident

Menlo Park resident Daniel Barclay, 22, an MIT student who won local acclaim as the keystone of the Menlo-Atherton High School Quiz Bowl team, has died in a boating accident in Massachusetts, his family reported today.

Barclay, who graduated from M-A in 2003 and was only six weeks away from graduating from MIT with a simultaneous master's and bachelor's degrees in political science, was reported missing from MIT on April 8.

Dwayne

Why does it take hours to evacuate a sinking vessel?

A cruise ship, the Sea Diamond, ran into a reef off the coast of Santorini, Greece, on April 5, tearing a hole in the hull that sank the vessel 15 hours later. The nearly 1,600 passengers and crew didn't get off the ship for three hours. Why does an emergency evacuation take hours? Dwayne

Rory McAlinden and Clare Steele - Cousins - Perish Together in Tragic Boating Accident

CASTLEWELLAN will come to a standstill today for the funerals of the two teenaged cousins who drowned after a tragic boating accident.

Rory McAlinden (18) died as he heroically attempted to keep his cousin Clare Steele (16) afloat in the icy waters of Castlewellan Lake when the canoe they were in capsized.

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Dwayne

Brosnahan - Nearman - Story Continues -Iowa lawmakers fear proposed drunken boating law may be too tough

In the wake of an Okoboji boating death involving a Sioux Falls man, some Iowa lawmakers say they’re worried about a proposed law that would toughen drunken boating laws in that state. A bill, which was approved unanimously in the Iowa Senate, would lower the blood-alcohol limit for boaters from 0.10 percent to 0.08 percent, the current limit for driving on Iowa roads. ----------------------------------- We have commented on this case for many months now. Dwayne

Airboat Overturns In SW Miami-Dade - Airboat Accident

(CBS4) SW MIAMI-DADE Several people were in need of assistance after an airboat overturned in SW Miami-Dade. The accident occurred Tuesday afternoon 15-miles west of Krome Avenue and Tamiami Trail when an airboat operating out of the Miccosukee Reservation overturned, sending approximately 8 people into the water. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue arrived at the scene and was able to remove everyone from the water safely. The victims were treated nearby for minor injuries. ---------------------------------------------------------- Dwayne

Boating Deaths Florida / Boating Safety

The sobering 18 boating accident deaths in Florida since Jan. 1 is the most for that period in 15 years, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is urging boaters to put safety first.

Dwayne

Sea Diamond - Captain of Sunken Cruise Ship Is Charged

Update on this story ....

ATHENS, Greece — The captain of a cruise ship that sank off an Aegean Sea island, sending more than 1,500 passengers and crew onto rescue boats, was charged Saturday with causing a shipwreck through negligence.

The 469-foot Sea Diamond sank into the sea after hitting a well-marked and charted reef on Thursday, in fair weather, inside the Greek island of Santorini's sea-filled volcanic crater.

This article says the crew is at fault.

Here is an article out of South Florida. South Florida Student arrive home after the sinking.

Dwayne

Why Celestial Navigation?? Do you need it??

Celestial Navigation is the art and science of navigating by the stars, sun, moon, and planets, and is one of the oldest of human arts. With the rise of radio and electronic means of finding location - especially with the increasingly popular GPS, based on satellite transmissions that can tell us our latitude and longitude within feet - knowledge of celestial navigation has experienced a precipitous decline. So why should anyone study it? This site will tell you why.

www.starpath.com says this: Well, the real answer is you don't. You don't even need a boat to get to Hawaii or Bermuda, or take a trip around the world. You can do this by plane. It is faster, cheaper, and more comfortable. On the other hand, if you do choose a life at sea, then one of the fundamental rules of thumb that has been tested so many times we don't even have to go over it, is you must be prepared to take care of yourself. You must be self reliant. Murphy's Law was invented on a small boat at sea. Anything electrical is vulnerable after some time in the salt air, especially when it is being jarred, bumped, banged, and dropped (i.e. going to weather). -------------------------------------

If you are planning an ocean passage and want to be safe this writer advocates celestial navigation as a safety contingency.

Dwayne

Jacksonville - St. Augustine - St Johns River - Boating Collision - Tom Mosley Missing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The search efforts for a man who disappeared after two boats collided on the St. Johns River switched from rescue to recovery after several hours on and in the water.

Authorities searched overnight for Tom Mosley after the recreational boat he was driving collided with another on the river late Sunday. The search continues. Update: The body was found. -------------------------------- Dwayne