The Boaters.tv - New Blog

This is a new blog that just linked to us. It looks interesting and we will follow its progess. Dwayne

Debate Over Boater Qualifications

Southold, NY - Sea Tow International, an international marine towing firm, plans to host an executive roundtable discussion at its New York headquarters next month to discuss mandatory boater education.

The roundtable will include industry representatives from key business segments, a news release says. The company, which has been serving the recreational boating public for 24 years, says boaters, like auto drivers, are at the mercy of those who share their waterways.

“Because of this, it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to be cognizant of, and adherent to, basic safety practices and the rules of the road. The way to accomplish this is through universal boater education,” according to the statement.

-----------------------------------------

Dwayne

Body Recovered Identified as One of Two Missing Boaters

Rescue crews from the Coast Guard, Texas EquuSearch, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and local police and fire crews continue the search this morning for Bill Harris.

Bill and Martha Harris went missing yesterday after their empty boat beached itself near Pine Gully Park with the engines still running.

Dwayne

Lake Sinclair boaters urged to avoid search for missing fisherman

LAKE SINCLAIR --

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is asking boaters to avoid the Lake Sinclair dam area as the search continues for a missing Statesboro man.

Crews have been searching since late Saturday for Chris Thompson who was involved in a fatal boating collision.

In spite of daylight to dusk searches, Thompson has not been found.

-------------------------------------------

Dwayne

Empowering woman to take to the sea

The fifth annual Woman Underway seminar at the Duxbury Bay Maritime School took place June 1 with a lot of firsts. It was the first year it was run entirely by women, and “the first time in five years it’s not raining,” DBMS Development Director Anne Mullins said.

“This is the fifth annual Woman Underway seminar, and the first year it is being run by all woman – it is the best year yet because of that,” Duxbury Bay Maritime School Executive Director Ned Lawson said as he introduced the seminar.

-----------------------------------------------------------

See this interesting article from a very good blog on women and the sea.

Boating is certainly not just for men and boys.....There are a lot of great women skippers out there!!

Dwayne

Small Boats, Big Worries: Thwarting Terrorist Attacks from the Sea

Globally, terrorists have shown an increasing inter­est in using small boats to attack military and com­mercial shipping and maritime facilities. The tactics and techniques of using commercial or non-commer­cial vessels (under 500 tons) or swimmers to emplace or deliver improvised explosive devices have proven effective and exportable. Contemporary operational practices by transnational terrorist groups include refining proven attack methods, sharing lessons learned, and encouraging others to adopt effective tac­tics. Thus, the possibility of such attacks in U.S. waters should not be ignored.

All boaters can assist the authorities in practicing situational awareness. The Coast Guard and other agencies need all the eyes and ears they can find.....this includes all boaters. If you see something out of the ordinary report it to the Coast Guard.

Dwayne

3 boaters injured in LI Sound - Pleasure boat vs. Barge

Three boaters were injured in an apparent collision between a pleasure boat and a barge in Long Island Sound yesterday that left one woman on life support, Coast Guard officials said last night. The accident happened about 2:20 p.m. about half a mile north of Sands Point near an area called Execution Rocks, the guard and Nassau police said. "A 24-foot pleasure boat was struck by a barge," Police Officer Mary Verna said.

A signal unseen?

Update on this Story:,p/> A Bronx boater said he whistled and waved an orange lifejacket in a futile attempt to prevent an oncoming 324-foot tanker barge from hitting his 24-foot vessel in the waters off Sands Point. ----------------------------------------------------

The above article gives some good tips for avoiding collision or allisons with commercial vessels. Dwayne

Lake Sam Rayburn boating accident witnesses sought

NACOGDOCHES — As the investigation of a weekend boating accident that severed the leg of a 16-year-old Lufkin girl progresses, law enforcement officials said, details of the accident have become clearer.

Charles Clayton Gilstrap, 24, of Lufkin, was arrested for intoxicated assault after driving a boat that injured Ashton LaMar on Lake Sam Rayburn Saturday afternoon.

------------------------------------------------

The authorities need help on this one.....

Dwayne

Boating dangers: How safe are boaters on the waterways you visit?

Failure to wear a life vest, alcohol and inability to swim are factors in most of the 700 accidental boating deaths that occur each year in U.S. waters, according to a Gannett News Service analysis of boating accident data.

Of the 3,507 people who died in boating accidents between 2001 and 2005, about 80 percent weren’t wearing life vests, according to the GNS analysis of Coast Guard data.

Click here to check accident details for any waterway in the country by searching an interactive map.

===================================

The above interactive map link is pretty neat...you can go state by state too....

Dwayne

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Flying Colours - Independent searchers look for missing sailors -

-------------------------------------------------

Latest vigil news:

Baker City friends to hold vigil for grad missing in Atlantic

------------------------------------------------------------------

On May 29, 2007 a person very close to the crew brought THIS story about the Flying Colours to my attention. The friends and family of the crew remain hopeful and need your help if you are on the water to continue the search for their loved ones. If you are passing through the area where this boat was lost please help the families by keeping a watchful eye and reporting any information that may assist them.

Dwayne

---------------------------------------------------

The sailboat Flying Colours was reported missing in rough seas off North Carolina. Photo By: U.S. Coast Guard

---------------------------------------------

Vigil Held For Missing Sailboat Crew

This story is not about the Flying Colours but ended well for another sailor and his crew caught in the same terrible storm. This sailor thought that a oversized (he did not say rogue) wave destroyed his craft and he speculates that a same or similar wave may have taken the Flying Colours down. Sailor details terrifying ordeal of his rescue at sea The Coast Guard measured the waves at 50 feet. Dwayne --------------------------------------

Sailors’ circle holds hope This is the latest on this story. There are many survival tales from the sea. If this group or some of them got to a liferaft there remains a chance they survived this storm. Some survival books we have posted about on this blog relate stories of persons surviving for weeks and months with very little but sheer determination and a will to live. Dwayne --------------------------------------

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Flying Colours Although the Coast Guard has suspended the search the friends and families of the lost sailors of the Flying Colours are continuing on. The Coast Guard has limited resources and searched for many days. They cannot search forever. Now the search is left to fellow sailors, on the same or similar route or friends, family and those generally concerned. These sailors, by all reports were very experienced. They were apparently prepared and had some safety equipment with them. Castaways have been know to live for months at sea with very limited resources. It remains possible some or all of them are alive at sea. Any help from sailors on this course would be appreciated. 40 sailors from different areas are joining in the search. You can help by sending the families reports as you pass through the area or by sending funds. They have an email where they can be reached. Publicity and blogging will keep attention on this search and may help the families with information about their loved ones. Dwayne Clark ---------------------------------------

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Coast Guard suspended active searching today, pending further developments, for four sailors missing off the North Carolina coast since Monday morning: Patrick Topping, 39, Jason Franks, 34, Rhiannon Borisoff, 22, and Christine Grinavic, 25.

“Suspending a search is always a difficult step for the Coast Guard because we understand the impact that it has on the families involved,” said Rear Admiral Larry Hereth, Commander, Fifth Coast Guard District. “In the last six days, Coast Guard cutters and aircraft, along with numerous DOD aircraft searched all of the likely and even unlikely areas where the crew could be. Sadly, the threshold of survival seems negligible.”

-----------------------------------------------

Danbury High grad lost at sea 34-year-old's boat missing since Monday

The friends of Jason Franks were praying for the 34-year-old sailor Saturday.

Franks, a 1991 Danbury High School graduate, was missing at sea off the coast of North Carolina. His sailboat, the "Flying Colours," had been missing since Monday , when high winds whipped the ocean as high as 40 feet.

------------------------------------------------------

C-130 airplane and a Coast Guard boat search for survivors of the sailing yacht Flying Colours. U.S. COAST GUARD

------------------------------------------------------ Newport Sailors are keeping watch.... -----------------------------------------------------

This particular storm seems to have surprised a lot of boaters. The results have been tragic. Help with this seach in any way you can. If you are a blogger or in the media keep posting stories as it may keep postitive attention on the search.

Dwayne

Two Hurt In Mother's Day Boat Accident in South Florida - Sea Tow

(CBS4) MIAMI A South Florida teen remains hospitalized after a Mother's Day boating accident on the Intracoastal Waterway. Witnesses said the 24-foot boat, which was carrying four adults and three teens, was just off the 79th Street Causeway Boat Ramp at the Pelican Harbor Marina when it was hit by a boat owned by Sea Tow Services. -------------------------------------------- Dwayne

Coast Guard Saves Nine Lives from Three Sailboats

Coast Guard Saves Nine Lives from Three Sailboats

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - The Coast Guard rescued nine people today from three sailboats off the coast of North Carolina.

A Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew based out of Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., landed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point with the latest survivors, who were plucked from their sailboat about 120 miles off shore.

Dwayne

Coast Guard Medevacs Woman from Cruise Ship Norwegian Dawn

Coast Guard Medevacs Woman from Cruise Ship

New York - A rescue crew from Coast Guard Station Shinnecock medevaced a woman with potential spine injuries aboard a cruise ship anchored 3 miles south of East Hampton just before 8 p.m. today.

Dwayne

Gulf Stream

Coast Guard Hero has Died - BM2 Perrett

BM2 Perrett

R 062029Z MAY 07FM CCGDEIGHT NEW ORLEANS LA//DRMC//TO COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//RPF//COMLANTAREA COGARD PORTSMOUTH VA//CC//R 062008Z MAY 07 ZUI ASN-A08126000037FM COMCOGARD SECTOR NEW ORLEANS LA//CC//TO CCGDEIGHT NEW ORLEANS LA//DRMC//BTUNCLAS //N05360//SUBJ: DEATH OF AN HONORED CG MEMBER1. COAST GUARD SECTOR NEW ORLEANS ANNOUNCES WITH REGRET THE DEATHOF WORLD WAR II COAST GUARD VETERAN MARVIN J. PERRETT. MR. PERRETTWAS FOUND DECEASED IN HIS RESIDENCE AT METAIRIE, LOUISIANA ONSUNDAY, MAY 06, 2007. HE WAS 81. Dwayne