Coast Guard Auxiliary Reports

This past weekend, there was a news story about a kayaker rescued in Mobile Bay. They had gone out and overturned in rough seas. Not wearing a lifejacket, they only had a cooler and cell phone to call for help.
Thankfully, the dispatcher who answered the 911 call was able to use the county technology to get a rough location and the kayaker was able to describe visually what they could see. After the volunteer fire chief and Coast Guard arrived on scene, they were able to work with the dispatch to locate the boater.
The chief relayed that at one point, they were within 50 yards of the kayaker, and could not see them due to water conditions. By that time, the cooler had sank and the individual was treading water. This story had a great outcome, the kayaker was unharmed.
It serves as an important reminder on the importance of wearing a life jacket, practicing self-rescue if you capsize, kayaking with others, watching the weather and filing a float plan. Consider taking a water resistant hand-held VHF radio. It is good practice to also have a vessel identification sticker, available from the USCG Auxiliary, on your kayaks. This will help if your kayak is found without you. Authorities can contact you to determine if it is an emergency situation. If so, a float plan will help narrow the search.
Thanks to Sherrie, we will always remember safe boating is no accident!

If you would like to learn more about vessel safety checks, please contact Steve Hults, Staff Officer for Vessel Examinations at steve.hults@uscgaux.net.

Please contact us for more information about our safe boating classes or learning more about getting involved in the Auxiliary, check out our website at www.uscgaux.net follow us on FaceBook @ Apalachee Bay Flotilla 12 or contact our Flotilla Commander Phil Hill at pnkkhill2000@yahoo.com.

Please contact us to learn more about getting involved in the Auxiliary, check out our website at www.uscgaux.net follow us on FaceBook @ Apalachee Bay Flotilla 12 or contact our Flotilla Commander Phil Hill at pnkkhill2000@yahoo.com

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed civilian volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard and supports the Coast Guard in nearly all mission areas. The Auxiliary was created by Congress in 1939. For more information, please visit www.cgaux.org.