Coast Guard Auxiliary Reports
By Carolyn Brown Treadon
The following information was shared by Bob Curry on the U.S. Coast Guard Heartland Safe Boating Facebook page. Bob is a Coast Guard Auxiliary Recreational Boating Safety Specialist. As we all anticipate the upcoming holidays, helping the boaters in your life be safer is one of the greatest gifts you can give! Bob adapted the “The Twelve Gifts of Christmas” song parody written and sung by Allan Sherman to offer safe boating gifts. Last week included the first six ideas, this week we finish the list! In case you missed it, here is the summary: VHF/FM radio with Digital Selective Calling, a U.S. Coast Guard approved automatic self-inflating Type V personal flotation, “A Boater’s Guide to the Federal Requirements for Recreational Boats,” a dry box, a marine compass and an aluminum anchor.
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a “U.S. Coast Guard Approved Type IV” throw cushion. Your true love may already have the U.S. Coast Guard required throw cushion, but we recommend that you have two cushions, with the extra one equipped with a line so that the cushion can be tossed to someone in the water and the line can be used to pull them to your boat. Ring buoys with 60-90 foot lines can be quite helpful in rescuing someone who falls overboard also.
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a bucket. Most boats have automatic bilge pumps. When we forget to put our plugs in before launching our boats, some automatically come on and begin pumping out water. The Coast Guard recommends that you have a backup dewatering system, and that can simply be a bucket. That bucket can serve more than one purpose. It can be used for garbage, or it can be used to store items such as your first aid kit and visual distress signals (rockets, flares, and flag). You can find some fancy survival/safety packs at marine stores, or you can go to a paint store and get an unused paint bucket with a lid for almost nothing and create your own.
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a good pair of boat shoes instead for several reasons. First, you want something that doesn’t slip on the deck. Second, you need the extra foot support and grip that a good pair of boat shoes provides. Third, with that sun beating down on the boat, unless you liberally apply sunscreen to the tops of your feet, you will end up with fried feet.
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a thingamajig. Your true love needs such a gadget on the boat. You can’t go wrong with just about any combination tool for your true love’s boat.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a GPS/Sonar combo. There are many different models out there, and they all let you know where you are in the water, how deep it is, if there are any fish below the boat, etc. There is nothing like having a GPS on board when the fog rolls in and you are way out there in the middle of the bay with no visual references.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a U.S. Coast Guard Approved, non-expired, gauge in the green, fire extinguisher. Although fire extinguishers are generally good for 12 years after manufacture, they should be replaced if the charge needle is not in the green or the body of the extinguisher shows signs of rust (especially on the bottom of the extinguisher).
Although it may seem strange; on the twelfth day of Christmas, I am going to exchange all that stuff listed above. I am going out on a limb here, but I bet you don’t have any plans to buy your true love twelve days’ worth of gifts. I have given you several options, ranging in price from $ to $$$. You know what your budget is. I would like to make one final recommendation. Check out your true love’s boat and see when their fire extinguisher expires. No boater should be out on the water without one on board.
Many thanks to Bob for this rendition of the Twelve Days of Christmas! And as always, thanks to Sherrie we will always remember safe boating is no accident!
Please contact us to get your own “If Lost Please Contact” sticker(s) or 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
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.
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.