The United States Marine Safety Association and Marine Safety: A history of support for marine safety.

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Ed McCauley, president, United States Marine Safety Association;
Mr. Richard Hiscock, former member of Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Advisory Committee; Ms. Kari Guddal, president, Guddal Enterprises LLC; and Mr. Tom Thompson, executive director, United States Marine Safety Association.

USMSA and the Immersion Suit
During World War II, the need for protection from hypothermia became apparent. Borrowing on work already begun by the British, U.S. and Canadian experts developed lightweight “exposure” suits. Production ceased, however, when the war emergency was over. Today, professional mariners are well aware of the importance of the immersion suit.

Milestones:

• In the late 1960s Gunnar G. Guddal, founder of Imperial International, a USMSA member company, invented the modern-day neoprene immersion suit with a water-tight zipper.


• In the 1970s, two major maritime accidents and an increase in recreational boating deaths due to cold water exposure focused new attention on cold water survival.

USMSA and Training
The United States Marine Safety Association has long been active in facilitating safety training for the commercial fishing industry. The regulations resulting from the Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Act of 1988 required that drills be conducted monthly aboard fishing vessels by a trained individual.

USMSA partnered with the New Jersey Marine Sciences Consortium and the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association to develop the curriculum and infrastructure required for this training. This effort resulted in a comprehensive document containing guidelines, lesson plans for safety and survival training, and onboard drill scenarios.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/winter2010-11/.

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U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists—Part 2

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine

Regional Emphasis

USCG First District

In the 1st District, paddlesport safety is a huge concern.

Many fatalities occur on whitewater or in colder coastal waters as paddlers take advantage of the seasonal changes. The RBS specialist works with the Coast Guard Auxiliary, outfitters, retailers, and other paddling organizations coordinating training seminars to enhance safety awareness and risk-based decision making.

USCG Fifth District

The 5th District specialist serves as Executive Secretary of the Virginia Recreational Vessel Subcommittee and manages the Coast Guard Outreach Innovation Center, which contains a variety of boating safety outreach materials and displays for RBS partners.

USCG Seventh District
Due to a year-round boating season and a high population of seasonal residents and tourists, the 7th District specialist travels around the district with a Boating Advisory Trailer Public Awareness Kit. Also known as the “Bat-Pak,” this rolling boating safety classroom provides hands-on recreational boating safety training.

USCG Eighth District
The 8th District specialist serves as the district boating under the influence and Boating Safety Strike Team program manager. The strike team supports state marine patrol efforts during annual high-profile marine events such as Cincinnati’s “Tall Stacks” and provides surge capability on waters popular with exuberant boaters, such as the Lake of the Ozarks.

USCG Ninth District
The 9th District’s specialist coordinates joint training for marine patrol officers, collaborates on annual district boarding and BUI guidance, and is a contributing writer for Mid-America Boating, a regional newspaper for Great Lakes boaters.

USCG Eleventh District
In the 11th District, the RBS specialist participates in the “Wear It California!” life jacket campaign. Supporting several booths at various marinas in “the Delta,” where the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers meet, inflatable life jackets are distributed to anyone who signs a pledge to wear it when on the water.

The RBS specialist also participates in the Tri-State Boating Safety Fair at Lake Havasu, Ariz., assisting officers from Arizona, California, and Nevada with life jacket trade-in.

USCG Thirteenth District
The 13th District’s specialist manages the district recreational boating policy. In addition, he or she is a member of the Washington State Drowning Prevention Coalition, the Washington State Parks Boating Safety Council, and is an advisory member to several boating advocacy groups.

USCG Fourteenth District
The 14th District recreational boating safety specialist oversees the CG-4100 report of boarding forms and coordinates a variety of safe boating events and activities related to the annual National Safe Boating Week observance.

USCG Seventeenth District

This specialist is perhaps the most unique. The 17th District RBS specialist deploys RBS teams to the Arctic to raise boating safety awareness and instill best practices among the regional Native American tribes. In addition, he or she employs boating education and safety teams around the state, oversees the CG-4100 report of boarding forms, and coordinates boarding officer and boarding team member training.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

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Visit Part 1 here for more information on U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists.

U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists—Part 1

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Frank Jennings, Jr., Recreational Boating Safety Specialist, Ninth Coast Guard District and Mr. Bruce R. Wright, Recreational Boating Safety Specialist, Seventh Coast Guard District

While the Coast Guard headquarters’ Boating Safety Division functions at a strategic level, recreational boating safety (RBS) specialists are assigned primarily to district prevention division staffs.

Myriad Duties
Recreational boating safety specialists each serve as the principal Coast Guard liaison to individual state boating law administrators and their staffs. This regular contact may involve discussions of unclassified Coast Guard operations within the state; emerging recreational boating issues, boating casualty investigations, or joint operations planning; or local boaters’ complaints.

Recreational boating safety specialists also coordinate and host workshops and professional training programs, serve as the Coast Guard’s “ambassadors” to RBS partners, such as municipal water safety agencies, local safe boating coalitions, the Red Cross, and the U.S. Power Squadrons, and hold active memberships in organizations including the National Safe Boating Council, National Water Safety Congress, and International Association of Marine Investigators.

Jurisdiction
In addition to liaison duties, these specialists are responsible for the district recreational boating safety cooperative agreements the Coast Guard maintains with each state and territory, which delineate the responsibilities shared by the state and Coast Guard on waters of concurrent jurisdiction.

Special Efforts
One overarching safety message continues to be the importance of wearing a life jacket when boating. However, because boating constituencies and activities vary from district to district, the message may require slight modification to reach localized user groups.

Stay tuned for U.S. Coast Guard Recreational Boating Safety Specialists—Part 2.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

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The National Water Safety Congress

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Ms. Cecilia Duer, Executive Director, National Water Safety Congress

Established in 1951 as one of the first non-profit water safety organizations, the National Water Safety Congress is a non-governmental organization dedicated to promoting boating and water safety.

Its efforts include:

• publishing the Water Safety Journal, course curriculum for “Cold Water Boot Camp USA,” “Beyond Boot Camp: Rescue, Recover, Re-warm,” and the “Multiple Use Waterway Management Guide;”


• establishing a personal watercraft instructor/cold water immersion/first responder trainer certification program;


• completing a life jacket national wear rate validation study;


• providing grants for boating and water safety projects.

Leadership
The NWSC executive director serves as a member of the USCG’s National Boating Safety Advisory Council, Vice Chair of the Strategic Plan Committee, and liaison to the Towing Safety Advisory Council. The executive director is a board member of the partner organization the National Drowning Prevention Alliance and is also the executive director of the Spirit of America Youth Family and Community Boating Education programs.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

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The Non-profit Organization Grant Program

Partnering to improve boating safety—Part 2.

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine

Recent Successful Applications

2005
Navigation Lighting on Barges. National Water Safety Congress. The towboat/tugboat/barge industry expressed an interest in determining a manner to light their barges while under tow.

2006
Boating and Water Safety Summit. National Safe Boating Council/National Water Safety Congress. A multi-year initiative to conduct conferences to impact the safer use of water resources through improved public education and more efficient means of transferring information among waterways managers, user groups, and individuals.

Development of Risk-Based Assessments. Underwriters Laboratories. Developing a risk-based compliance approval methodology for life jackets.

National Estimates of Personal Flotation Device Wear Rates. JSI Research. A multi-year effort to measure the effectiveness of initiatives to increase life jacket wear.

Staged Collisions. National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA). Staged boating collisions for boating safety accident investigation training.

2007
BUI Detection and Enforcement Training Seminars. NASBLA. Primary objectives: Review and distribute an updated BUI curriculum package for marine officers and produce regional BUI officer training seminars.

Cold Water Boot Camp USA. National Water Safety Congress. Goal: Reduce fatalities by targeting immersion in cold water as a specific issue.

“Paddle Safe, Paddle Smart.” American Canoe Association. Moving “Paddle Safe, Paddle Smart” lessons from an extra-curricular option into the regular classroom.

2008
Inflatable Life Jacket Testing for Children 16 Years and Under. Foundation for Recreational Boating Safety and Educational Awareness. Goal: Determine if and under what circumstances children and adult non-swimmers using automatic inflatable life jackets reduce their risk of drowning.

Personal Flotation Device (PFD) Point of Purchase Show Board. United Safe Boating Institute. Show board depicting PFDs for sailing, paddling, skiing, operating personal watercraft, fishing, hunting, and general recreational boating distributed to retail outlets, parks, ranger stations, safe boating booths, and boating safety facilities.

PSA on Dangers of Carbon Monoxide on Boats. Carbon Monoxide Action Group. A nationally televised Public Service Announcement exposing the dangers of carbon monoxide on boats.

“WEAR IT!” National Safe Boating Council. This ongoing campaign encourages life jacket wear.

Full article is available at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/fall2010.

Subscribe online at http://www.uscg.mil/proceedings/subscribe.asp.