From the Captain of the Port

Most of us have heard of a tragic story of some poor soul giving it all up by ending their life in the garage. Close the door, start the car and wait for a precious few moments. For many of us, that is all the thinking we ever do about carbon monoxide poisoning – which can be fatal. Of all the dangers that the mariner confronts, carbon monoxide is perhaps the most dangerous since it is odorless,…

As we often pine to be afloat with a deck beneath our feet, we might even feel compelled to venture out with proper planning. If so, the Float Plan, oft spoken of and more often ignored, can be key for you and those closest to you. That’s what this column is about.   Float Plan The Float Plan is nominally known as a mechanism for ensuring that missing vessels are indeed missed in time for action to be…

Recently, a friend of mine fell overboard – while boarding a boat at the dock! Sound crazy? Not really – when the “victim” isn’t wearing proper shoes. He stepped on the gunwales and not into the boat, and the wake of a passing boat (who shouldn’t have been making a wake!) rocked the vessel strongly. In other words, things just go wrong at all the wrong times. Are you ready to deal with it? When I take…

On September 28, 2022, the USCG Office of Investigations & Analysis (CG-INV) released Marine Safety Advisory 01-22 titled, “Maritime Distress Communication Devices,” which is available on their Safety Alert internet site. In it, they detail what devices the USCG is listening to in real time, and which they are not. This column is about that. Maritime Distress Communication Devices – Marine Safety Advisory 01-22 Over the past decade, maritime distress communication devices have proliferated in the marketplace. Some devices transmit via…

We’ve written about GPS many times. It’s truly one of the simplest yet most powerful aids to navigation ever invented, and it just keeps getting better. So, who needs a compass? You do. This column is about that.   A Candle Held Where? What if I told you that the signal from the GPS satellites reaches your boat with the intensity of a candle – held in Los Angeles while you are in New York? Yes, that’s…

Or “Physician, Heal Thyself”; Luke 4:23 * As we (probably) all make New Year’s resolutions to go on a diet, we keep getting reminded that we are getting heavier as we get older. No matter where we turn, someone is telling us that we are getting fat and need to be thinner! Guess what? So are our boats! Yes, as boats get older, they get heavier and that has a lot to do about being less “sea-kindly”…

The United States Coast Guard characterizes their Auxiliary corps as a “force multiplier,” enabling the active-duty and reserves corps to do more with the budgeted dollars allocated by the U.S. Congress. USCG Auxiliarists donate 100% of their time to the tasks authorized by the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard. And no task is more important than promulgating and expanding the safety of life at sea. This column is about that. The Ten Commandments Well, that…

We’ve all read recently (and frequently) about the increasingly more dangerous season ahead. In addition to the forecast update, it was largely about what you and your family should do (like never stay on the boat nor drive through running water.) What about the boat? ‘Tis the season of heavy weather. This column is about that.   Let Me Say It Again… Never stay on the boat. I know, there are old timers that swear by it:…

For many years, we referred to life jackets as “PFDs” – Personal Flotation Devices. Jeesh, can the lawyers get over it? OK, not everyone in a life jacket survives; roughly only 15 out of 16. Conversely, if fifteen people go in the water without a life jacket, only one comes out alive. The other 15 die. Life jackets save lives. This column is about that. The Statistics Boaters end up in the water for a variety of…

Anybody notice the intense fog we had on several days this season? “Can’t see my hand in front of my face” kind of stuff. For those of a more scientific-bent, fog that forms when water is warmer than the air is called “steam” fog (fall). Think of that pot of spaghetti water you are boiling. Fog that forms when the water is colder than the air is called “advection” fog (spring). There is a third kind of…