Incredibly 80% of DSC VHF Mayday Calls Have No Vessel Location

Now Is the Best Time to Get
Your DSC-Equipped VHF Hooked Up Right 

 

This time of year, life gets a little slower for recreational boaters, perhaps freeing up time to fix the important things like having a fully working VHF radio on board. If you have a basic VHF, checking the connections for corrosion, inspecting the antenna and doing a simple radio check may be all that it takes. But if you have a newer Digital Selective Calling (DSC) VHF, this is the time to ensure its life-saving, one-button mayday feature is fully working. This allows anyone on the boat to simply press a button that gives rescuers near pinpoint location and identification information, greatly speeding rescue times. 

 

However, the DSC functions on new radios only work if a Maritime Mobile Service Identity number (MMSI) has been entered into the radio. Further, the US Coast Guard reports that approximately 80% of the one-button distress calls from DSC VHF radios it gets each year do not contain vessel position information, meaning that life savers cannot effectively respond. Boaters can take two simple steps to make sure their DSC radio will provide rescuers with the information they need, according to Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS):

#1: Connect the DSC-VHF to the GPS/Chartplotter. While some of the newest handheld DSC VHF radios have GPS built in, most fixed-mount DSC VHF radios must be connected to an external chartplotter in order to broadcast location information. This single, critical wired connection increases your margin of safety a thousand times over by allowing rescuers to find you quickly

While there have been challenges with a uniform, industry-wide plug-in connector to make it easy for do-it-yourselfers, having both the radio and chartplotter of the same brand and each manufactured within several years of each other makes it easier. Taking the time to open up both operating manuals is also a good first step - you likely won't need to know how to read a wiring diagram as instructions are in plain text. Most electronics manufacturers also have customer support phone lines ready to help. And if you're still having trouble? Get a professional electronics installer to do the job. After all, aren't your family's lives worth a relatively small $150 service fee to have a pro do it right? To find one near you, ask at your West Marine store, local marine electronics retailer, marina or go online at http://www.nmea.org/content/nmeatrained/nmeatrained.asp.

#2: Get a free Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number that identifies your boat. The MMSI number is a bit like a phone number for your boat. Having one helps verify an emergency, identifies your boat to rescuers, and cuts down on the instances of false alarms, ensuring that critical rescue resources will be available when you need them. BoatUS offers MMSI numbers for boaters (who remain in US waters) for free at www.BoatUS.com/MMSI, along with an easy to download tutorial on DSC VHF radios and how this drastically improved technology is saving lives as a part of the US Coast Guard's Rescue 21 System. If you boat in international waters such as Mexico, Canada, Caribbean or abroad, you'll need to get your MMSI from the FCC at: http://wireless.fcc.gov/uls.

The Top Ten Costliest Ways Boats Come To Grief

Putting Thousands of BoatUS Insurance Claims Files Under a Microscope

ALEXANDRIA, Va., October 23, 2013 - It's a cross between the CSI and Cold Case TV show crime dramas: taking a look back through the thousands of dusty, old settled boat insurance claims files to identify patterns that can teach today's boaters how to avoid becoming a statistic. That's exactly what the BoatUS Marine Insurance publication, Seaworthy, did in the recent feature, "Top Ten BoatUS Marine Insurance Program Claims," which appears in the October 2013 issue.

"The last time BoatUS did such a detailed analysis was in 2005, and this kind of information is not available from anyone else in the industry," said Seaworthy Editor Beth Leonard, "The time seemed right to revisit our findings and share them with boaters so they can learn from other's mistakes." Here's the list of the top ten claims in terms of dollar value over the last eight years, along with some tips that could help prevent becoming a statistic, or if you're simply unlucky, lessen the damage:
 
#10. Lightning: Make sure to haul out your boat after a lightning strike to check for "exit wounds" that can compromise the hull's integrity.

#9. Theft: 90% of boats are stolen on their trailers. Make it as difficult as possible to simply hitch up and run.

#8. Injury: Many injury claims involve inexperienced guests. Be sure to warn your non-boating friends about wakes, waves, slippery surfaces, and other hazards.

#7. Grounding: Accurate charts - whether paper, electronic, or on a mobile device - and a depth sounder are your best defense against grounding.

#6. Collision: Most collisions result from some combination of three factors: inattention, blind spots, and too much speed.

#5. Fire/explosion: Faulty wiring causes most fires; most explosions result from fueling issues.

#4. Striking a submerged object: If you hear a loud clunk from down under, stop and look in the bilge, and, if you find any water coming in, haul out the boat to check for structural damage as soon as possible.

#3. Weather/wind: Keeping your boat in a well-protected location away from trees is the best way to protect it from non-hurricane weather damage.

#2. Sinking: Check, squeeze, and tug all fittings below the waterline at least once a season to make sure your boat stays afloat.

#1. Hurricane: A well thought out hurricane plan can keep your boat safe in all but the most extreme storms (see www.BoatUS.com/hurricanes).

Go to www.BoatUS.com/toptenclaims for the full story.

New Jersey Announces Successful Completion Of Hurricane Sandy Waterway Debris Removal

More Than 101,000 Cubic Yards Of Debris And 360,000 Yards Of Sediment Removed From State Waters

The unprecedented clean-up of New Jersey waterways following Superstorm Sandy, which resulted in the systematic removal of more than 101,000 cubic yards of debris from storm-impacted tidal waters, is officially coming to a close, the Christie Administration announced today.

The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has notified impacted municipalities that all waterway debris removal performed by three state-hired contractors for this effort will cease on October 30.

“The success of this massive project is the result of a true team effort involving not just the DEP, but the hard work of our contractors, our sister state agencies, the federal government and local and county governments,” said DEP Commissioner Bob Martin. “With this enormous effort, we were able to clear debris from bays, inlets, wetlands and the ocean.”

While debris removal is ending, sediment removal from state waters will continue through the fall. To date, more than 360,000 cubic yards of identified Sandy-related sediment has been removed from marinas, lagoons and back-bays.

In addition, the state Department of Transportation is developing a separate plan to dredge state channels, some of which suffered impact from Superstorm Sandy.

Earlier this year, during the first 100 days following the storm, the DEP and impacted municipalities cleared more than 8 million cubic yards of debris from the streets of storm-ravaged communities. The materials, including more than 4.5 million cubic yards of construction and demolition debris from some of the hardest hit towns in Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Cape May and Atlantic counties, were sorted and safely disposed or recycled.

Then the DEP turned its focus to the challenge of removing docks, bulkheads, pieces of boardwalks, boats, cars and even houses, and other storm debris from tidal waters from Bergen County to Cape May and up the Delaware Bay to the Delaware Memorial Bridge in Salem County.

The DEP hired three contractors through public bidding to focus the federally-funded water cleanup effort in separate coastal regions. The DEP separately engaged three debris monitors to provide FEMA-required oversight of the debris removal work, and a project manager, Dewberry Engineers, Inc., to manage this complex undertaking.

The firms surveyed nearly 195,000 acres by side-scan sonar and gathered and removed the following materials from New Jersey waters:

• 360,000 cubic yards of sediment (to date)
• 101,716 cubic yards of debris
• 6,019 submerged targets – which could be any type of storm-related debris
• 194 vessels and vehicles
• 4 mostly intact homes

The bulk of the debris removal work was completed by mid-summer. However, remaining wet debris and submerged material took longer to locate and remove.

“The waterway debris removal project represents the finest efforts of New Jersey, showcasing our ability to pull together the best resources available to get the job done safely, on time and with utmost respect and consideration for the environment and, of course, for our residents and businesses,” said DEP Assistant Commissioner for Environmental Management Jane Kozinski, who coordinated the water and land debris removal projects.

Agencies that worked with DEP on this concentrated effort include the state Department of Transportation's Office of Maritime Resources, the State Police Marine Services Bureau, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Earlier this month, municipalities were given until October 15 to notify the DEP of any remaining waterway debris removal requests. With the passing of this deadline, municipalities are again solely responsible for the safety of their beaches and public areas and hazards in the water.

For more information on the DEP’s Sandy recovery efforts and waterway debris removal visit: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/special/hurricane-sandy or http://www.state.nj.us/dep/special/hurricane-sandy/wwdebris.htm

Should nautical charts show a recommended route through the Intracoastal Waterways?

Should NOAA nautical charts have a recommended route through the Intracoastal Waterways? This route has been shown for decades as magenta line on nautical charts giving boaters a guide for safe travel. Now NOAA is looking to do away with the "magenta line". For more information and to make your opinion known click the following link.

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/09/26/2013-23440/intracoastal-waterway-route-magenta-line-on-noaa-nautical-charts