Our boat sat unused last year because of Covid, and I scheduled a two day in depth inspection last week to look at the boat, and safety issues. Issues found were extremely surprising and have led to improvements in boat safety.
We have a…
Since the discontinuation of SeaTow's radio check service, the US Coast Guard recommends all VHF checks be held by DSC test call to their Rescue 21 system on digital channel 70 (the only all-digital channel). All fixed marine radios since 1999 have…
In recent years, the US Coast Guard has, in response to comments from recreational mariners and professional mariners attempted to address the complex issues of required Day and Night Signals.
With the recent indictment of the Captain of the Conception due to the loss of life during the fatal fire on board the dive boat on September 2, 2019, it is timely to consider how we have our vessels set up for charging the batteries on portable…
Emergency services have not always responded to an EPIRB alert
When voyagers purchase and register an EPIRB, the first step is to register the EPIRB with the beacon authority. In the US, go to …
Perhaps a meta-analysis of anchoring tests is the only way to get a sufficiently broad idea of what will work best for an individual. No single test proves very much, and all are compromised by the simplifying assumptions in the test protocol.
After an initial stage of having existing life jacket designs updated with modern labels, new life jacket designs created under a new UL standard (UL 12402) will begin to enter the market, and these life jackets may have features and innovations…
Sailors can learn from the crash of flight 8303. We can, on occasion, get into a situation that gets more and more difficult from which to recover. This can be caused by ego, or by a sudden change in the expected circumstances, or a lack of “…
I like to think that the courses and articles and online tutorials are complete and easy to understand, but anyone who teaches knows that the best way to check comprehension is to listen to the questions that are asked. After my “story” in Lectronic…
Several years ago, I was asked to serve on the National Boating Safety Advisory Council, which is a group that (as the name suggests) advises and coordinates with the Coast Guard on issues related to recreational boating safety.
Coast Guard Safety Alert:
This safety alert reminds all inflatable life jacket users of the importance of performing periodic maintenance on their equipment. Instances of fatal accidents where inflatable life jackets failed to properly inflate have…