From the Captain of the Port

On the sea, especially in cold water environments, it’s all about rescue, recovery and re-warming.

By Vincent Pica, Commodore, First District, Southern Region (D1SR), United States Coast Guard Auxiliary As an avid student of the sea, I am always amazed when I read that even some of the ‘round the world sailors get “mal de mer” – seasickness. While they get over it in a few days, which everyone will if they are just out there long enough, I wonder how they can put to sea knowing with certainty that they will…

We’ve had some foggy mornings and as we make the “clubhouse turn” towards cool air and warm water, we will have more. For those of a more scientific-bent, fog that forms when water is warmer than the air is called “steam” fog (fall).

Understanding boat trim and boat squat is all about control and avoiding running aground.

Unlike any other law enforcement arm, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) may board your boat at their discretion — they need no search warrant, no provocation, and no reason other than ensuring your boat is in full compliance with all applicable federal laws and regulations.

OK, not everyone in a life jacket survives. Roughly only 14 out of 16. Conversely, for every 16 boaters that go into the water without a life jacket, only one comes out. The other 15 died. Life jackets save lives. This column is about that.

Obviously, the most top-of-mind danger that all mariners face is drowning. We live, work and play in a marine environment – a hostile marine environment, if one is not careful. And, even you are careful, things happen. This column is about that.

So, the newest EPIRBs now transmit simultaneously on 406MHz and 121.5MHz. The 406 reduces the footprint to one square nautical mile. And the 406MHz is heard by satellites all over the world and, within an hour, the USCG RCC will have commenced coming to your aid.

A number of years ago, as I was doing a (free) vessel exam for the owner of a very substantial yacht, I got to the part where I ask to see the life jackets. He pointed me to a locker, which I opened to find the life jackets, stowed under an anchor, chain and additional rode. This column is about that.

By 1973, the Navy wanted a reliable, global system for all vessels and what we now know as “GPS” was born in a brainstorming session at the Pentagon over the Labor Day weekend. By 1978, the skeleton of GPS was aloft and reached operational status with 24 satellites in 1993. (There are now 31 such satellites aloft.)