New Federal Boating Regulations On The Horizon?

Vin Pica reveals a law that may require the use of EPIRBs for recreational boaters...
 
Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

U.S. Coast Guard photo/PA3 Barbara L. Patton

Buried deep within the US Coast Guard 2011 authorization bill (Section 618 (the emergency beacon provision), H.R. 3619) is a short paragraph enabling the US Coast Guard to require emergency locator beacons, if it believes they are warranted and to decide how to do it, on pleasure boats when they go offshore. What is “offshore?” The section essentially defines “offshore” by authorizing the US Coast Guard to require the beacons on pleasure boats when they venture three nautical miles (nm) or more from the U.S. coastline or from the shores of the Great Lakes.

Advocates say that the measure could save lives while also saving millions each year in search costs. Why? Because, when the perfectly calm skies that you left under turn into a snarly, life-stealing beast, sometimes, all your skill isn’t going to get you home. And sometimes the boat itself is what betrays you as she threatens to slip away beneath you. You are going to be hard to find – unless you are sending a signal to the satellite who will call the USCG for you.

This column is about that...

Virginia is for BOATERS

Virginia tourism department is promoting family fun on the water with new sweepstakes...

Photo courtesy of Virginia Tourism Corporation.

We just got an email from the folks that promote tourism for the Commonwealth of Virginia announcing a major travel sweepstakes for 2012, and it's quite nautical.

They are calling the promotion LOVE Aquatic, and it features four grand prize adventures that combine family fun and learning on the water...

Remember Your First Time at a Boat Show?

Do you remember your first time? Presenting the Hartford Boat Show through the eyes of an 11 year old...

Boat shows are always fun to attend for us seasoned boaters, but do you remember your very first? Do you recall what caught your attention, and what you thought was worth capturing on camera?

Let us help jog your memory. Here are a few scenes from the 2012 Hartford Boat Show, taken by an 11 year old whose mother sent us the pictures from the kid's iTouch. These made us smile, so we had to share...

Miles Away From Our Usual Sea Song

Our latest Sea Song of the Week is easy like Sunday morning. No, this is not a Lionel Richie song...

Screenshot of the Daily Boater channel on YouTube featuring our latest Sea Song of the Week

Every weekend (or so) at the Daily Boater we choose a song to help get you into that nautical state of mind, even if you can't get out on the water. Trust us - listen our songs, and you can smell the salt air all the way from Oklahoma. We call it our Sea Song of the Week.

This week's Sea Song is as much about surfing as it is boating, and it is as much a beer commercial as it is a music video. But we are excusing ourselves since we're a week away from super-Sunday, where beer commercials may take up more air time than the actual game. Besides, we think you'll really like this super-smooth groove...

World on Water 57

This week's edition of World on Water, Episode 57 released January 27, 2012, is now available. Watch it on the Daily Boater or FirstBoat.com...

Here's the outline of this week's World on Water...

Biggest Boat Show Weekend of the Year?

There may be more boat shows around the US this weekend than at any other time this year, and certainly more in Washington...

Hartford last year had tons of mid-sized boats. Lots and lots of boat shows this weekend. Photo © Nautical Sites Media

They are not all huge, but there sure are a lot of them. And they're everywhere. If you were thinking about going to a boat show sometime soon, this may be your best chance, as there are more than a dozen boat and sport shows around the country.

There's one near us this weekend (Hartford Boat Show in Connecticut), and yes, there's probably one near you, too. Are you heading to a boat show in Hartford, Seattle, San Diego, Chicago or Jacksonville, or in one of the many other locations this weekend?  Let us know! Here are a few of the details...

New App Makes Logs A Breeze

A new sailing app crossed our desk this week, so we'll take a look at what may be the most deviously simple iPhone log book yet...

A new app sails onto your iPhone

If you sail regularly you will know that keeping a log book isn’t always easy; just remembering to fill it in is a challenge in itself. In fact, actually managing to bring it with you can challenge some people.

When you read your paper log, do you usually have your charts with you so you can see where that waypoint was?

Unlikely, unless you’re on your boat...

The Cup, Uncovered

Catch up with the America's Cup as they round up all that's been happening recently in an awesome 23 minute video...

Luna Rossa unveil their new AC45 catamaran in
Auckland. ©Nigel Marple/Luna Rossa Challenge 2013

We just received an email update from the folks at the America's Cup, complete with a very-well produced 20+ minute video that reviews the standings in the America's Cup World Series and highlights victories from the America's Cup World Series San Diego. The video also features a chat with Energy Team's Loick Peyron after he recently smashed the round the world record on Banque Populaire in the Jules Verne Trophy. Lastly, the video includes Ben Ainslie's announcement that he will be joining the America's Cup after the Olympics this summer with his UK team: Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR).

Personal Locator Beacons and You

This week, Vin Pica takes his talk of EPIRB technology to another level and discusses PLBs...
 

A PLB FROM ACR

Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

When the perfectly calm day sneaks up on you while you are day-dreaming and turns into a snarly, life-stealing beast, all your training rushes to the front of the “screen.” But sometimes, all your skill isn’t going to get you home. And sometimes the boat itself is what betrays you as she threatens to slip away beneath you. You are going to be hard to find – unless you are sending a personal signal to the satellite who will call the USCG for you.

This column is about that...

Volvo: Leg 3, Stage 2 Action

The second stage of the third leg of the Volvo Ocean Race kicked off this weekend, from the Maldives to China...

Photo: AndrŽs Soriano/Team Sanya/Volvo Ocean Race

Team Sanya celebrated the Chinese New Year this weekend by leading the Volvo Ocean Race fleet off the start line on the 3,051-nautical mile Leg 3 second stage from the Maldives to their home port in Sanya, China.  And just in the past hours, at 1300 UTC on day two of this stage, there were just 10 nautical miles separating PUMA’s Mar Mostro at the front and last placed Team Sanya. Just over one mile stood between CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand and first place. This is a close one, folks, and here are some additional photos from the past 36 hours...

Youngest Circumnavigator and Facebook

Here are 16 good reasons to 'like' both First Boat and the Daily Boater on Facebook...

The Daily Boater blog may have been quiet over the weekend, but the FirstBoat page on facebook was quite active. We won't rewrite the stories here, but here's one post that everybody was talking about this weekend...

16 Year Old Sailor Laura Dekker Becomes Youngest Circumnavigator

Never miss a beat between blog posts - "like" the FirstBoat Facebook page and the up-and-coming Daily Boater Facebook page now.

Thank you!

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World on Water and Ice

The latest edition of World on Water, Episode 56 released January 20, 2012, is now available. Watch it on the Daily Boater or FirstBoat.com...

Here's this week's sailing wrap up...

Another Big Boat Show Weekend

This weekend's boat shows are in Austin, Baltimore, Cleveland, and several other cities around the US...

Come in from the cold! There are plenty of big, indoor boat shows this weekend. Photo © Nautical Sites Media

The 2012 winter boat show season continues, with several more boat and sport shows going on this weekend and next. There are a ton of shows in all points of the United States, and even a couple of International shows. Are you going to one?  Here's the rundown...

Strike

Today's Daily Boater article is not about boating... 

But it is about the future of the Daily Boater, FirstBoat.com, and more importantly, the entire Internet.

We are going postless today like so many other web publications to take a stand against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). The proposed bills would be okay if they simply 'stopped piracy'. But, unfortunately, the current versions of the bill allow big corporations to shut down any site they feel is violating their copyright. A law like this would dramatically alter the way you use the web, and would mark the beginning of the end of smaller websites like this one...

EPIRBs, PPIRBs and GPIRBs, Oh My

This week, Vin Pica talks about some of the devices that can dramatically increase your chances of getting saved at sea...
 

EPIRBs - Do You Have One?

Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

Many of us have heard of satellite systems hailing the USCG when a boater pulls the (chord, pin, string, wire – pick one). A signal goes up from the boater’s device to a satellite (in the old days it went up to planes that were, hopefully, flying by) and down to the Coast Guard’s Rescue Coordination Center. This would start the “rescue starts now” clock at that point. The device is called an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon – an EPIRB (said “ee”-purr-b).

This column is about those devices...

Our Blue Sea Song of the Week

Our first Sea Song selection for 2012 is a "song about the blue" written and performed by a group of scuba divers turned oceanic conservationists...

Screenshot of the Daily Boater channel on YouTube featuring our latest Sea Song of the Week

Every weekend at the Daily Boater we choose a song to help get you into that nautical state of mind, even if you can't get out on the water at the moment. We call it our Sea Song of the Week.

This week's song is about that water you wish you were out on right now. According to the song's creators, this tune was "designed to portray the beauty and fragility of the ocean and convey how we are mistreating and neglecting her. ...

Friday the 13th World on Water

The Friday the 13th edition of World on Water, Episode 55, is now available. Watch it on the Daily Boater or FirstBoat.com...

Here's this week's sailing wrap up...

A Very Big Boat Show Weekend

Boat shows include Chicago, Toronto, Nashville, London, Houston, Atlanta and many, many more...

The folks from the NMMA sent us this pic from last year's Chicago Boat, Sports &
RV Show. Check out this year's event today through Monday at McCormick Place

Obviously the 2012 winter boat show season is going from zero to 60 in a flash. After just getting started last weekend, there are around a dozen boat and sport shows going on now. What a great time to come on in from the cold and go see some boats...

New Anchor Alarm App Is No Drag

ActiveCaptain's latest iPhone app gives boaters peace of mind while at anchor overnight...

Jeff Siegel, the founder of ActiveCaptain, contacted us over the holidays to tell us about a new mobile app that he has created and is offering absolutely free. As Jeff knows, we never pass up an opportunity to let our readers know about new boating apps as they become available, and everybody loves free stuff.

But please don't call us hypocrites for telling you about a new app just one day after guest contributor Vin Pica stated that "we are right at the cusp of technology overload", and that "can’t be good for safety of life at sea."

Technology has its (growing) place on every vessel; and running an app that helps you get some shut eye without worrying about drifting is one use of a mobile device that will certainly not result in a distracted operator situation. And helping put your mind at ease by keeping you and other boaters safer is exactly what this app does...

Technology Overload And Boating Safety

After several articles on the latest and greatest boating technology, Vin Pica takes a step back to the basics of safety of life at sea...
 
Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

Are you relying on your marine electronics appropriately? Photo © Nautical Sites Media taken at the 2011 NY Boat Show.

You’ve seen many articles and columns here about technology aboard*. And as functionality of cell phones starts to rival computers (did I say “rival” - I should have said “outpaces!”), we are right at the cusp of technology overload. This can’t be good for safety of life at sea.

This column is about that...

A Quick Trip Around The World

Loïck Peyron and crew smash the Jules Verne Trophy record, becoming the fastest team to sail around the world...

Photo © Banque Populaire

As a casual recreational boating enthusiast, you may not have seen this news on the sailing wires over the weekend, but an extraordinary accomplishment was achieved on Friday at the finish line of the Jules Verne Trophy.

First World on Water Episode of 2012

Today's edition of World on Water, Episode 1 of 2012, is now available. Watch it on the Daily Boater and FirstBoat.com...

Here's what's happening on this week's episode...

NY, London Boat Shows Begin

Big boat shows in New York City, London, Houston and kick off the 2012 winter boat show season...

This week marks the beginning of the 2012 winter boat show season, and some of the biggest have lined up to be the first shows of the year. If you're looking for something to do this weekend, come on in from the cold and get to one of these major events...

Getting Rescued With Rescue 21

Vin Pica explains how Rescue 21, the Coast Guard's communications technology for the 21st Century, is improving Safety of Life at Sea...
 
Guest blog by Vincent Pica
Chief of Staff, First District, Southern Region (D1SR)
United States Coast Guard Auxiliary

A digital selective calling VHF-FM marine-band radio. USCG photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandyn Hill.

In 1787, Alexander Hamilton envisioned that “a few armed vessels, judiciously stationed at the entrances of our ports, might at a small expense be made useful sentinels of our laws.” Fast forward to today and I am sure that Alexander Hamilton would be astonished at the breadth, depth and intensity of duties carried out by the United States Coast Guard. A major expansion in our ability to conduct the missions and duties established by the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard is through “Rescue 21.”

This column is the update on what it is and where it is working.

Boating Deaths Up In Maryland. Way Up

Old Line State is home to highest number of boating fatalities in nearly 20 years...

How were your holidays?

For the families of 25 people who died in boating accidents in Maryland in 2011, the holidays were probably not so good. Maryland recorded the highest number of boating fatalities since 1992 according to the Baltimore Sun, which suggested that the state's Natural Resources Police are calling for tougher boating regulations.

We're not trying to bring you down. We just want to see more boaters boat safely and survive to boat another year...