You never know when you might be stuck on your boat out on the water. This time of year, when a sunny, 78° day can turn into a cold, rainy night in a matter of hours, being prepared can mean the difference between surviving until you’re rescued and hypothermia – or worse.
Some of the life lessons that Mario Vittone’s mother (and Ben Franklin) instilled in him applied to his work as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer. They’re food for thought for all boaters.
When you hear the name Chesley Sullenberger, competence and heroic calm under enormous pressure come to mind, don’t they? Sullenberger, who expertly piloted stricken US Airways Flight 1549 to a 155-life-saving landing on the Hudson River, will long be remembered as the very picture of experience. He was a flight instructor, developed vital flight safety programs and amassed an enormous number of safe flying hours. The passengers aboard Flight 1549 couldn’t have asked for a better pilot on that morning in January 2009.
Not all flares are created equal and a flare that expired yesterday is not the same thing as a flare that expired 15 years ago, here are some important caveats to flares (expired or not) for their use, storage and inspection.
Only once in my career as a USCG helicopter rescue swimmer did I ever launch on a flare sighting that turned into an actual rescue. Three commercial fishermen were at anchor, sleeping, when their shrimp boat caught fire. By the time they got on deck, the wheelhouse was ablaze, and the only thing on the boat not on fire was these three guys, the Type 2 PFDs they were wearing and the one flare they grabbed out of the flare locker.
It’s overcast, pitch black and drizzling — only a storm and waves could make the search conditions worse and we were all thinking the same thing; on an open skiff, with nowhere to hide, the kid must be freezing. Coast Guard rescue crews take every search seriously, but we look harder out the window for kids in peril. We should. Get over it.
I love EPRIBs. When asked what one thing I would take with me offshore, I always answer; an EPIRB. There is simply no valid argument against the devices. I recommend them to friends, insist on them for family and think anyone who goes to sea without one is just plain stupid.
Retired rescue swimmer Mario Vittone and helicopter pilot Dan Molthen spent countless hours looking for lost boaters, yet neither had ever seen the one document boaters are encouraged to create prior to getting underway: a float plan.
When people fall overboard, more often than not it’s at the marina when stepping on or off the boat.
At a meeting with 250 boaters last year, I asked for a show of hands: “How many of you have registered your DSC radio and have an MMSI number?
Failure to check an engine gauge turned into a humbling lesson complacency at the helm.
Four skippers are awarded for lifesaving actions that went beyond routine towing assistance.
An Annapolis woman restores the wooden boat first owned by her grandfather.
To navigate a bridge safely, know the rules and
proceed with caution.
NOAA revisits the 2008 vessel speed regulation, reopening debate over limits designed to reduce whale strikes.
Medical emergencies can unfold quickly on the water. Here’s how to protect your crew before help is within reach.
The 30-foot ADV9 pairs 50-knot speed with cruising features for families.
Trailering a boat across state lines requires thorough research, planning and prep
This trailerable 20-footer is based on the builder’s patented Z-Plane hull.
Here’s what you need to know before upgrading to a high-out alternator.
