USCG Warn of Dangerous Water Temperatures
The Coast Guard is reminding boaters and paddlers heading out on the water this holiday season to keep safety in mind. Weather forecasts are slated to bring unseasonably warm air, but the water can be dangerously cold. The current water temperature in Boston Harbor is 46 degrees Fahrenheit, but last winter during the coldest month it averaged 36 degrees Fahrenheit. “Excited boaters and paddlers in their new canoes and kayaks will understandably want to take advantage of the mild weather,” said Walt Taylor, the 1st Coast Guard District’s recreational boating safety specialist. The ocean and inland waterways in New England pose unique dangers in the wintertime. “When a person falls in cold water, their body responds to initial shock with an instantaneous gasp for air," said Taylor.
USCG Stresses Importance of Free Vessel Safety Checks
As National Safe Boating Week continues, the Coast Guard 9th District is reminding boaters Sunday to get a free vessel safety check from the Coast Guard Auxiliary before going out onto the lakes this boating season. The Coast Guard Auxiliary is an all-volunteer force that keeps the nation’s waterways safer and more secure by providing vessel safety checks and boating education courses. The Coast Guard recommends that all recreational boaters, including personal watercraft users and paddlers, take advantage of these free offers. Boaters who have undergone a vessel safety check recently may also find that vessel boardings by Coast Guard boarding officers could be expedited.
NOAA & US Power Squadrons Sign Agreement
NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey & US Power Squadrons sign a Memorandum of Agreement to improve cooperative charting program. Rear Adm. Gerd Glang, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, recently sat down with John Alter, chief commander of the U.S. Power Squadrons (USPS) to sign up to a collaboration that began fifty years ago. The USPS is a nonprofit organization dedicated to safe boating through instruction in seamanship, navigation, and related subjects. With nearly 40,000 members in more than 400 squadrons across the U.S.
NOAA and U.S. Power Squadrons Renew Program
This week, NOAA and the U.S. Power Squadrons, a non-profit organization dedicated to safe boating, will renew a 50-year commitment to a cooperative charting program that helps to update the nation's thousands of navigational charts. Under the voluntary program, formalized by a Memorandum of Agreement, members of the U.S. Power Squadrons scan water and land areas, looking for changing conditions that may not be reflected on NOAA nautical charts. Power Squadrons members submit their reports online, and NOAA cartographers review and incorporate changes to their navigation products. "The partnership between Coast Survey and the Power Squadrons is a long and successful one, speaking to our shared vision of safety on U.S.
U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety Alert 04-11
MARINER'S SAFETY ENDANGERED WHEN VHF RADIO DISTRESS ALERTS BY DIGITAL SELECTIVE CALLING (DSC) LACK LOCATION AND IDENTIFICATION INFORMATION. As the Coast Guard's new marine radio network Rescue 21 becomes operational throughout the U.S., rescue centers can now receive instant distress alerts from commonly used DSC-capable VHF marine radios. However, approximately 90% of VHF DSC distress alerts received by the Coast Guard do not contain position information, and approximately 60% do not contain a registered identity. The Coast Guard cannot effectively respond to a DSC distress alert sent from such a radio. * no position information is known. FIRST Obtain a Maritime Mobile Installation Identity (MMSI) and enter it into your radio.
