Boating Know How

More than 17 percent of boating fatalities result from alcohol use. States have gotten tougher in recent years in enforcing laws against this high-risk behavior.

(Boating World) At a bend in the river, a powerboat heading downstream slams into the port side of a pontoon boat headed upstream. One passenger on each boat dies in the collision. The powerboat operator tells investigators she’d had a few “light” beers hours before getting on the boat. But a passenger reports that the driver was operating recklessly just before the collision and that she was drinking something from a water bottle that he took to be a mixed alcoholic beverage. Field sobriety tests conducted at the scene show the woman to be extremely intoxicated, and she is taken into custody.

While many boaters rely on cell phones for emergency communications on the water, VHF-FM radios are much more reliable in the marine environment and work in areas where cell phones sometimes don’t.  When a mayday is broadcast over channel FM Channel 16, the international hailing and distress frequency, multiple response agencies and other nearby boaters can hear the distress call and offer immediate assistance.

Without treatment the female caught by state wildlife workers and volunteers on May 12 in Englewood would likely have added to the 31 manatees killed in state waters this year after being hit by boats.

Now, the manatee may not only survive but also become healthy enough to leave the zoo's manatee treatment center, said Ray Ball, director of medical sciences for the zoo.

(MCA) Liverpool Coastguard received a 999 call from a member of the public earlier today reporting that his friend had called him to say that her vessel had lost engine power and was drifting near Kalkan, off the coast of Turkey. Liverpool Coastguard passed the call to Falmouth Coastguard who in turn contacted the Turkish Coastguard, MRCC Ankara, to request help for the crew and their vessel.