November 2, 2011 11:48 amOn Wednesday, 9 Nov. 2011, FEMA, DHS and the FCC will conduct the first test of the Nationwide Emergency Alert System.
The 3-minute nationwide test will kick off at 1400 EST and run concurrently across all time zones. This is the first such test to broadcast a simultaneous message to the entire American public.
Local police and emergency management officials want to eliminate undue public anxiety and urge you to share this information with family and friends so they are aware of the test. The TV test message might not indicate that it is just a test, which could cause people to panic.
Please see the following websites for more information regarding this test:
FEMA: Nationwide EAS Test Information
A National Dialogue On The Emergency Alert System (EAS)
St. Augustine Proposes 10-Day Anchoring Limit
October 31, 2011 3:28 pmAs part of Florida’s recreational boat mooring and anchoring pilot program, the City of St. Augustine has submitted a proposed anchoring ordinance to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission that limits anchoring within city limits to 10 consecutive days. If the ordinanceis passed, once this time limit is reached a vessel would have to move to an approved mooring field, marina or outside city boundaries for at least one full day before being allowed to return to the area.
BoatUS urges local and traveling boaters to speak up about how this anchoring restriction might affect them. Current mooring fees for visiting (non-resident) boaters in St. Augustine are $20 daily and $120 weekly. Written comments can be filed online before Sunday, 6 Nov., at www.myfwc.com/boating/anchoring-mooring/public-comment.
St. Augustine is one of five cities in the state’s mooring and anchoring pilot project, which allows municipalities to develop ordinances that limit nearby anchoring. For more background information on anchoring laws in Florida, see the new BoatUS information sheet.
October 24, 2011 6:43 pmUSPS Webinar: Emergency Locator Beacons
Global Search and Rescue - EPIRBs, PLBs and Related Locator Devises Description: Join us for a webinar presentation by Denny Emory of Emory / Yachting Services and co-founder of OceanMedix.com LLC. The webinar can be attended from the comfort of your living room! An Emergency Locator Beacon has become a standard piece of emergency equipment carried by the prudent mariner on a properly outfitted vessel. This presentation will explain the Search and Rescue process worldwide and explore the spectrum of emergency locator beacons currently available - what they are; how the function; registration requirements; testing; batteries; mounting; and, deployment. Denny Emory is co-founder of OceanMedix.com, a licensed yacht captain and formerly certified Wilderness - EMT. He has voyaged more than 100,000 nautical miles on both sail and power vessels, visiting 42 countries on five continents. Using personal experiences and reports of actual events, Denny brings life to this important topic. Date/Time: November 15, 2011 @ 5:00 PM Pacific / 8:00 PM Eastern Time
*The webinar will be recorded and available to watch if you were not able to attend the live session, or if you just want to watch again. Duration: Approximately 1 hour, plus additional time to answer questions. Cost: Register before October 30: $16; Register after October 30: $20 What’s included: - Unique link to attend the webinar session on November 15
- Informative handout to go with the subjects
- Credit to your USPS University Certificate for attending the entire session
- Click “Register Now” below to register to attend.
- After submitting the registration form, you will be forwarded to PayPal to pay the registration fee. *A PayPal account is NOT required to make a payment, just a major credit card.
- You will receive a confirmation email from us and from PayPal.
- A few weeks prior to the live webinar broadcast, you will receive another email with your unique link to attend the webinar, along with the electronic materials that go along with the topics, and instructions on how to attend.
Carolina squadrons’ service honored
September 8, 2011 3:32 pmForty years ago, a new name appeared on North Carolina coastal navigation charts. On 13 April 1971, NOAA’s National Ocean Service and the United States Board on Geographic Names officially designated a spot on Cape Lookout 2.5 miles north-northwest of the cape point Power Squadron Spit to recognize the Cooperative Charting efforts of 20 District 27 squadrons in North and South Carolina.
Power Squadron Spit (N 34.6226 W -076.524) appears on the Cape Lookout map at the National Park Service website http://www.nps.gov/calo/index.htm and nautical chart 11545.
Under the Cooperative Charting Program, conducted in coordination with the Marine Chart Division of the National Ocean Service, USPS members compare chart information to actual water depths, navigational aids and topography so corrections may be made to improve mariners’ safety. Members also supply data on range status and tidal current surveys and report damaged or misplaced Aids to Navigation. According to NOAA, the Cooperative Charting Program is recognized as the most effective Federal user-participation program.
A commemorative plaque honoring the squadrons for their efforts was originally affixed to Cape Lookout Lighthouse, then owned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. The plaque was later moved to the U.S. National Park Service headquarters for Cape Lookout National Seashore on Harkers Island.
A delegation of squadron members from Winston-Salem, N.C., originally presented the plaque to President Richard Nixon in 1972. Afterward Ronald C. Rau and Don Soefker departed for the Cannon House Office Building with the plaque; they were joined by Chief Commander Walter Cosdon and National Ocean Service officers. The party proceeded to the office of North Carolina Rep. Wilmer Mizell. The plaque was subsequently installed at Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
In the summer of 2002, Cdr. Dean Lee, commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guard group at Fort Macon, advised Ken Link that he would remove the plaque from Cape Lookout Lighthouse in preparation for turning over the property to the U.S. National Park Service. The beacon is one of many Atlantic Coast lighthouses that have come under the management of the National Park Service. Lee asked that Fort Macon Power Squadron keep the plaque during the transition.
On 15 May 2004, USPS members visited Cape Lookout to rededicate themselves to Cooperative Charting. Headed by District 27 Commander L. Stephen Puckett, 30 members attended the ceremony, including USPS National Executive Officer Ernest G. Marshburn. Also present were North Carolina Rep. Jean Preston and Bob Vogel, Superintendent of Cape Lookout National Seashore.
On 30 March 2006, Fort Macon Sail & Power Squadron members presented the plaque to Cherry Payne, acting superintendent of the U.S. National Park Service Cape Lookout National Seashore, at the headquarters on Harkers Island. The plaque was installed in the Light Keeper’s Quarters Museum.
Fort Macon Sail & Power Squadron will host the 40th Anniversary celebration of the naming of Power Squadron Spit on 10 Sept. 2011 at 1400 at the Lighthouse Keeper’s Quarters Museum at Cape Lookout National Seashore. Bruce Brill is in charge of the event (252-726-3119), and D/27 Commander Michael McCulley will speak. Cape Lookout National Seashore Superintendent Patrick M. Kenney and his staff will attend.
Squadron members will be able to climb the Cape Lookout Lighthouse from 1230 to 1330 to view Power Squadron Spit.
Press may contact Dick McKeon at 252-463-0208 to see if lighthouse tickets are available and should bring lunch, water, sunscreen and insect repellent. For press corps transportation to Cape Lookout to cover this event, see the list of ferry services at http://www.nps.gov/calo/planyourvisit/ferry.htm or contact JB Bagby (703-507-1745) for assignment to a Fort Macon Sail & Power Squadron vessel, departure locations and times.–Kenneth D. Link and JB Bagby
August 29, 2011 8:36 amUnited States Power Squadrons and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary signed an agreement during the Auxiliary’s national conference on 27 Aug. 2011 to broaden their cooperation in vessel examinations, public affairs and education.
USPS and the Coast Guard Auxiliary are committed to improving boating safety through increased boater education, vessel examinations and public awareness events.
“With this cooperative effort we will reach out to the growing population of recreational boaters providing needed training and vessel exams to keep them safe on the water,” said Jim Vass, Auxiliary National Commodore.
"The USPS is proud to continue our partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary as we continually strive to improve the boating experience for recreational boaters,” noted Frank Dvorak, USPS Chief Commander.
August 22, 2011 1:36 pm
By Ed Gumbrecht, Chief Operating Officer, Gowrie Group
Perhaps you have heard some of the strange and extreme stories of boaters who sustain damage to their vessels on the water. Last season, a couple day-sailing encountered a forty ton whale which crash landed on (and totaled) their boat. In the Bahamas, some US college students on spring break helped rescue a grounded 50 foot yacht, and then claimed “salvage” rights to the vessel when the captain took his crew ashore by life raft. Yet while most boaters’ sense of boating risk involves physical damage from causes ranging from collisions to lightning strikes, the big dollar claim settlements are often not about the value of the hull or damage to property. The greatest financial exposure that boaters face on the water is liability claims arising from bodily injuries to others.
Last year the US Coast Guard responded to 736 boating fatalities and 3,358 injuries on the water*. In the Northeast, the fatality rate exceeded 7.5 deaths per 100,000 registered vessels. While the hull damage in those accidents totaled $36 million, the unpublished value of the medical expenses and the law suits arising from these accidents will dwarf the property payout. Rising health care and litigation costs, and the protracted nature of valuing personal injuries and establishing liability will only amplify the ultimate settlement costs. In a single accident on the Connecticut River last year three fatalities and the permanent impairment of a young man will set a new bar for the monetary and emotional damages sustained in a recreational boating accident. And while the Coast Guard reports operator inattention, inexperience, excessive speed, improper lookout and alcohol as the top five contributing factors in accidents, it is often not the owner of the boat who is operating the vessel at the time of an accident. It is the boat owner however, whose assets are exposed when a boating accident leads to severe bodily injury.
The implications for smart boaters are two-fold.
1. First, through attention to safety, severe injuries can be avoided altogether. Only 14% percent of deaths occurred on boats where the operator had received safety instruction. Conversely, 84% percent of drowning victims were reported not to be wearing a life jacket. Clearly, proactive attention to safety prevents severe injury on the water.
2. Secondly, and less obviously, wise boaters attend to protection of their personal financial assets through appropriate liability and umbrella insurance. Many boaters are unaware that the liability insurance on home, auto, and umbrella policies often does not extend to include boating activities. A simple call to a marine insurance specialist can ensure the right coverage is in place. Without liability protection which specifically addresses boating activities, all the personal and financial assets of a boat owner are at risk.
The 2011 boating season is here. Please make both safety and protection part of your plan for an enjoyable and responsible experience this year.
Gowrie Group provides insurance, benefits, and financial services to individuals and businesses throughout the US, and specializes in customized business, home, auto, and marine insurance products and services. Gowrie’s 100+ dedicated professionals are primarily located in the company’s main offices in Westbrook CT, Darien CT, and Newport RI. For more information about Gowrie Group visit www.gowrie.com or call 800.262.8911.
August 9, 2011 9:13 amThe Alliance for Safe Navigation, of which USPS is a founding member, asks all recreational boaters to complete a brief survey designed to gauge their awareness of navigational tool updates and accuracy. This year’s survey also gathers data on groundings and their relationship to a lack of accurate navigational tools.
While most boaters use GPS, electronic charts and paper charts, a 2010 survey of 7,570 boaters revealed that most respondents do not routinely purchase current charts that reflect the U.S. Coast Guard’s weekly updates. Local Notice to Mariners updates contain critical information such as shifting shoals, moved buoys and newly submerged obstructions.
“Significant and frequent changes on—and under—the water happen, and boaters need to remain aware of these changes to ensure their safety,” said David Enabnit, technical director at NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “The Alliance for Safe Navigation strongly suggests that updated navigational tools are the best approach to safe navigation.”
To see the latest USCG Notice to Mariners for your location, visit Notice to Mariners. For more information or to find out how many changes have been made to your charts, go to www.allianceforsafenavigation.org. 
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