Safe Paddle Sports

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Jeremy Oyen, Director of Safety Education, Instruction, and Outreach, American Canoe Association

The American Canoe Association offers online resources to paddlers of all abilities and levels, including:

• 11 safety brochures (four translated into Spanish),
• 4 safety pamphlets,
• 4 safety posters,
• 8 safety and stewardship videos.

Additional information and training is available for classroom and on-water education. The goal is to reduce the number of accidents and fatalities by emphasizing the need for education even for those who do not consider themselves “paddlers,” but might use a canoe, kayak, or raft to participate in other outdoor activities.

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

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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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Marine Inspector Competency and Consistency: Steam Certification Board Guide

The Vintage Vessel National Center of Expertise (NCOE) and the Office of Traveling Inspectors released the Certification Board Guide for the Steam Portion of the Machinery Inspector-Steam.  The purpose of this guide is to provide references, methods to develop questions, and memory keys for the members of Machinery Inspector-Steam Certification Boards.  The guide is not an all-inclusive list, but simply a suggested line of questioning. 

This is the first training product of its kind.  There are plans to produce similar Certification Board Guides by this and other NCOEs for additional types of certifications.

Note: The technical content of the guide was created through the collaboration of the CGHQ Traveling Inspection Staff and the Vintage Vessel National Center of Expertise (VVNCOE) in Duluth, MN, including Mr. Eugene Walroos, Chief Engineer, Ret.; Mr. Stephen Petersen, CWO4 Naval Engineer, Ret.; and CWO4 Andrew Adolphson. Final review and consultation was provided by the National Centers of Expertise Training Support Staff, Yorktown, VA.

The National Safe Boating Council

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Virgil Chambers, Executive Director, National Safe Boating Council

The National Safe Boating Council is a coalition of organizations working together to promote safe boating. Membership consists of more than 330 U.S. and Canadian organizations, with approximately 35 percent composed of for-profit organizations and 65 percent non-profit organizations as well as local boat clubs, foundations, and law enforcement agencies.

Outreach
Each year, in partnership with the National Water Safety Congress, the NSBC produces the International Boating and Water Safety Summit, a venue for training professionals and volunteers within the recreational boating safety community.

Additional NSBC member-requested programs include boating safety instructor training and “Boating Safety Sidekicks” for children.

National Safe Boating Week
Each year since 1952, boating safety organizations and advocates across the country organize to promote safe boating. During this National Safe Boating Week (the week before Memorial Day), organizations address topics including alcohol and boating, boater education, and life jacket wear.
The current nationwide "Wear It!" campaign urges recreational boaters to wear life jackets at all times, as it has been estimated this could reduce drowning by as much as 90 percent. A large component of the campaign is educating people about USCG-approved items.

Close-Quarters Boat Control
The NSBC’s newest training program focuses on maneuvers and techniques for enforcement officers and safety patrol boat handlers to operate power boats, using factors like wind and current to assist in boat placement.

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

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40th Anniversary of the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971

Next Wednesday, August 10th, is the 40th anniversary of the enactment of the Federal Boat Safety Act.  In 1971, there were 5,510,092 numbered (registered) boats and 1,582 boating deaths.  In 2010, there were 12,438,926 registered boats and 672 boating deaths. These results are directly tied to the successes of the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971.

Read more about the Recreational Boating Safety at www.uscgboating.org, and in the Fall 2010 and July/September 2003 editions of Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council.

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.

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The Non-profit Organization Grant Program

Partnering to improve boating safety—Part 1.

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Donald J. Kerlin, Chief, Program Management Branch and Ms. Linda Gray-Broughton, former Non-profit Organization Grant Coordinator, U.S. Coast Guard Boating Safety Division

The Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 established the Recreational Boating Safety Federal Financial Assistance Program to permit states to assume a larger share of boating safety education, assistance, and enforcement activities. Of the funds appropriated for these programs, the Coast Guard is authorized to retain up to five percent for grants to national non-profit public service organizations.

The Process
The grant process begins with an announcement through the website http://www.grants.gov/, which includes a listing of suggested topic areas that receive additional points in the scoring process. About $6,000,000 is available for non-profit organizations each year.

Subject matter experts review each application using a “merit review” checklist, which focuses on technical merit, personnel qualifications, and the degree to which a proposal offers potential value and measurements to program goals.

Those applications meeting review standards (60 to 80 per year) are forwarded to the non-profit organization grant review team, which ranks selections based on parameters including:

• support of National Recreational Boating Safety Program goals,


• probability of project success,


• return on investment.

A grantee must be a national non-profit public service organization and the project must have the potential to benefit recreational boating safety at a national level.

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

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The Boy Scouts of America promotes aquatic safety.

Excerpt from U.S. Coast Guard Proceedings of the Marine Safety & Security Council magazine by Mr. Keith Christopher, National Events Director / Sea Scouts National Director, Boy Scouts of America

All aquatic activities comply with Boy Scouts of America “Safe Swim Defense” and “Safety Afloat” programs, which outline mandatory minimum standards that all leaders must be trained in before conducting sanctioned aquatic programs.

Sea ScoutsBoy Scouts of America Sea Scout units, called “ships,” focus on boating skills and promote knowledge of our maritime heritage. Sea Scouts learn to maintain and safely operate a vessel, as well as the meanings of buoys and lights, how to take advantage of wind and tide, and how to drop anchor or approach a dock.

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

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