The USPS Board of Directors attended the 2010 International Boating and Water Safety Summit in Daytona Beach, Fla. Following are notes prepared by Bill Griswold, past chairman, National Safe Boating Council.
I attended the meetings in Daytona Beach and these are my personal notes, not any sort of official minutes.
NSBC Board Meeting, Chaired by Veronica Floyd
Emily King retired from Ohio DNR and resigned as a director. She has been taken on as the Training Director, and since the first of the year has conducted Instructor Certification classes, Close Quarter Boat Handling, paddle sport courses coast to coast. This training has been well received and asked for.
The Campaign last year had 17 States using the WEAR IT logo, this year all 50 states and territories are using the theme. The Campaign has gone up on face book, twitter, and You Tube. Rachel Burkholder has developed a media press release each month this year. This is available on their web site at: http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/ Materials, both free and for a small charge are available or will be very soon at that site. They have a new small poster featuring the inflatable life jacket. 4 public service announcements are also available for downloading. On 20 May 2010 at 11 a.m. EDT the Council wants to set a record for inflating life jackets. Groups can do this and details are at: www.readysetinflate.com .
The Summit has about 380 people signed up. Future Summits:
2011 Savannah, Georgia March 6-9
2012 San Diego, California, March 4-7
The Savannah Summit will focus on the National RBS Strategic Plan. Presentations should be aimed at one or more objectives.
The Council is working on a grant to develop an inflatable life jacket kit. The kit will contain a belt pack life jacket, a suspender type jacket, a bunch of media, re-arming kits and an easel that has 17 pages of great information about inflatables. The initial distribution will go to boating law administrators, CG District RBS Specialists, USPS Districts, and the Corps of Engineers. Apparently there is a big demand for these, and future plans may make kits available for sale, with or without the actual jackets. It will also have a great poster that changes a life jacket from normal to inflated by moving it.
The History Book of RBS is plodding along, slowly but there is movement.
Horizon Awards were given to Auxiliarist Dan Maxim and General Riley of the Corps of Engineers for his support of the life jacket wear regulation in 4 Mississippi Lakes. The NSBC Hall of Fame Award will be given to Tim Smalley of Minnesota, Commodore Ev Tucker CG Auxiliary, and Virgil Chambers Executive Director NSBC.
The CG Report informed us that the Sport Fish & Boating Trust Fund has been continued until 31 December of this year. It has been due for re-authorization, but the Congress has been busy with other matters. Linda Gray-Broughton, the grant administrator at CGHQ, has moved to another job. Don Kerlin is now doing that job. Don will head up a new branch in CGHQ just for grants, as soon as they can hire 3 assistants. The 2009 accident statistics are being compiled, fatalities seem to be higher and injuries lower than 2008. Operation Dry Water was a huge success and will be repeated this year on the weekend of June 26-27. In this operation is a concentrated blitz by law enforcement to attack boating under the influence. Canada is thinking of doing the same thing, as well as the Army Corps of Engineers. America’s Waterway Watch is being refreshed. The Federal Requirement pamphlets have been redone, and a Proceedings magazine is being published with articles about various boating organizations.
Captain Rizzo, Chief of the Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety, reported that his travel budget has been cut 15%. He said that for years we all have been doing a good job of delivering basic boating education to the public. He is looking for organizations to move ahead and start providing more advanced education. He cited U. S. Sailing and their on water motor boat course as well as their sailing ones. USPS is developing a great on water program working with U. S. Sailing. The CG continues to try to introduce mandatory education to the Congress, and may renew efforts to pass mandatory life jacket wear in small boats. These issues and more are being studied by a group which is working on a new chapter of the National RBS Strategic Plan, 2012-2016.
NASBLA is hosting a Congressional Reception in Washington DC on Wednesday April 14, 2010 from 5-7 p.m. Representative Diaz Balart from Florida will receive the Confluence Award. (There are two representatives with that name from Florida; I’m not sure which one is being recognized.)
NTSB – They are looking at 4 recent boating accidents. The first is one that happened off Cape May, NJ. A fishing boat was taking on water and lit off their EPIRB. The problem began because the EPIRB did not have a GPS chip in it, and it took some time and several hits before Rescue could get an approximate location. By the time rescue forces arrived, 6 had perished and there was one survivor. In addition, the registry of the EPIRB was not updated. The second involved two people parasailing. Something broke and both plunged into the water in NC, and perished. The third was a collision between a CG vessel and a civilian catamaran in Charleston, SC – no fatalities. The last was another collision between a CG boat and a civilian boat in San Diego in which a child was lost. Legislatively, Virginia tabled their life jacket bill, so another attempt will be made next year. In Maryland, a child was thrown from a boat wearing a life jacket but he died because the boat may have hit him. Maryland is raising their mandatory wear from under 7 to under 13. Wisconsin is looking at two separate bills, one under 12 and one under 10, a single legislator is blocking Wisconsin’s life jacket bills. State efforts with mandatory education have slowed, and 10 states need to adopt regulations regarding rental PWC education. Massachusetts is working on a mandatory education bill.
NWSC - The Congress and the Council have now partnered 14 years putting on the Summit. The Grass Roots Grant awardees will be notified very soon. 45 grants in 18 states have been approved.
Canadian Safe Boating Council, Bob Minelly informed us of their North American Boating Safety Week, which will be one week after the American effort. Ted Rankin is working on their end of the Ready Set Inflate event on May 20. Their annual symposium will be held in Quebec September 23-26.
At the end of the General NSBC Membership Meeting, Captain Keith Colburn, captain of the F/V Wizard of Discovery Channel’s number one series “Deadliest Catch” spoke to us. He had camera crews on his vessel for periods of time while setting and retrieving crab pots in the Bering Sea off Alaska. He spoke about how he trains his crew and insisted that the camera people got trained too. His number one focus is safety, and hasn’t lost anyone in the years he’s been fishing. He performs maintenance religiously, uses check lists, and is a complete professional. He had great things to say about the CG crews that are out there assisting those who need it, and it was a very entertaining talk.
THE SUMMIT
A color guard from CG Station Ponce Inlet, Florida, presented the colors. Unfortunately, they placed the National Ensign on the wrong end of the dais, and Wayne Stacey from CGHQ corrected that during the first break.
Capt. Richard Moore, Florida Boating Law Administrator welcomed the attendees. He urged us to take home information we learned at the Summit and implement it to better our programs. He noted that accident statistics have flat-lined, but with more effort we can lower them even more. He asked us to inform the public about inflatable life jackets.
CG Captain Mark Rizzo said that one third of the population goes boating. He estimated 15 million registered boats and that 70% of the fatalities were in boats where the operator had not received boating education. The CG submitted a mandatory education proposal for legislation. He mentioned the Sport Fish & Boating Trust Fund has been continued to 31 December. He cited the 12 year study of life jacket wear by JSI, and that the numbers have not changed at all. He then reported that on the lakes in Mississippi where life jacket wear is mandatory, that compliance rates zoomed to over 70%. He said that Operation Dry Water was a huge success, and would be repeated.
Jeff Hoedt, CGHQ repeated some statistics, and said that between 4 and 25 million boats are not registered, mainly non-powered craft. The recession has caused boat manufacturers to cut back 50%, several businesses shutting down entirely. Even non powered boats have suffered a decline in sales. People seem to be keeping their boats longer, could this become a safety issue with older boats in use? The impact of the marine industry which has 900,000 jobs and about $100 billion has a huge effect. He then cited some accident statistics, also noting that they have flat-lined. Other fields of transportation have seen similar trends. He moved on to the Strategic Plan, and that the 2009 stats will be out in May. Deaths may rise, injuries will fall. 397,000 boating certificates were issued in 2008, but with 80 million boaters, it could take centuries. He praised those states who have enacted quick phase in education laws, and criticized those who went the born after route. He underlined public awareness efforts, and cited organizations that have conducted on water and advanced training, such as ACA, NSBC, U. S. Sailing, NWSC, and Spirit of America. He thinks NAVRULES training is going well and alcohol enforcement and BUI standards are ahead of their plan goals. Manufacturing discrepancies have dropped significantly, and steady efforts with carriage requirements are encouraging. Accident reporting through the BARD system has helped and sped up reports. He then moved on to the National Survey about to begin. They aim to determine boating participation and exposure measurements. The program is at OMB for approval which should come shortly. The contract was awarded in 2009 for 3 surveys every other year. They will also evaluate the non-profit grant program effectiveness and focus on the Strategic Plan. He mentioned that the income for the Sport Fish & Boating Trust Fund is down some, therefore state and non-profit grant amounts will be reduced as well causing tougher competition. The CG and the National Fish and Wildlife Service have been working closely together to achieve re-authorization of the Trust Fund. He spoke about culture change and how in just a few years how we have embraced mandatory education and life jacket wear from when we opposed it. He mentioned that Connecticut and New York have enacted laws mandating life jacket wear during the cold months. The CG is looking at international standards for life jackets with an aim to standardize them. Other ongoing projects are reciprocity of education, prop strike research, education for engine cut off switches and rental operations and the vessel identification system which has enrolled 25 states and 5 territories.
Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) – Their life jacket study began in Pittsburg and western PA in 1991 with boats less than 16 feet on ACE waters. They wanted to expand this study to another area with large visitation rates and commitment by their district. 4 lakes in the Vicksburg District just south of Memphis along I-55 were selected. They first identified the scope of the project, and then began to prepare the region for the policy, contacting members of Congress, state and local officials, the media and the public. They began the policy in May 2009, but didn’t issue citations but did a lot of educating. The policy said that people in small boats or swimming outside of designated beach swim areas had to wear a life jacket. JSI observations saw the wear rate go from less than 10% to 70% in a very short time, while lakes outside the 4 experienced a wear rate of 6%. Lessons learned were that advance coordination was critical as was education. Boaters have complied but the swimming outside of designated areas is a tougher problem. They feel lives have been saved, and are now measuring other aspects of the project. To date, no drop in visitations has been noted, and not one Congressional inquiry has been launched. The public has accepted the policy. Other agencies are looking at this closely, and it could become a model for a National policy.
NWSC did a fast track grant to provide on water life jacket wear observation studies in Mississippi, in conjunction with JSI’s shore side efforts. Using the same form and training, plus observing during the same times the JSI folks were doing it, they were able to cover more area, and noted BUI’s, and social raft ups meaning 2 or more vessels together. They checked week day use, thinking that enforcement was out only on weekends. They also covered areas around swim areas. They noted some decrease when law enforcement was not present, but with 4,000 boats observed, they saw a 61% compliance of people wearing their life jackets. More info on this is on the NWSC web site at: http://www.watersafetycongress.org/
Boating Alaska – this was a project to create a video, and covered the necessity of plan, make a time line, have a script, a backup plan and money.
Beyond Cold Water Boot Camp – this phase of this training centered on Rescue, Recovering, and Rewarming. People with severe hypothermia are extremely fragile, and measures must be made to protect them from shock, keep them horizontal and do the treatment gently. Quebec law enforcement and fire officers are required to watch this DVD. The condition of post rescue collapse was discussed, and Auxiliary boat crews should get this training as well. The training covers the rescue, triage, and thermal protection. Gently cut off clothing and blot water with towels, do not rub a patient. Shivering will warm the patient, so wrap them with dry material, a sleeping bag is ideal, first wrapping them in plastic to keep the bag dry. Horizontal and gentle are the watchwords, and first responders should be aware of ways to bring someone into the boat without making them stand or get vertical. The training shows some techniques and a DVD will be available soon from NWSC.
CG America’s Waterway Watch – Safety and security go hand in hand. Our open maritime borders pose a great risk of attack. The speaker cited many examples during WW II of Japanese suicide boats being used against warships much like the USS Cole incident. Maritime Security Plans are being developed in 52 areas, and will be reviewed every 5 years by CG Districts and the Commandant.
BoatUS is developing on line games involving boating. They showed one TV show Jeopardy in which their loaner life jacket program was involved. They began with a 2D boating game called Navigateit. There are 6 skill levels and lessons are given at various points during the game. A 3D game is almost ready to issue, and we were shown how they work. I’m not sure whether these will be on line or downloadable, but eventually I think anyone could get them.
Arctic Boating Safety Outreach – Part of this effort was to learn about native Alaskan culture, for example, red or orange life jackets are not wanted because they scare birds, which alert prey the natives are hunting. So, white life jackets have been used with acceptance. The infrastructure cannot support boating safety, for example stores do not sell life jackets, and everything is very expensive and limited. Helicopters do not have de-icing gear, and this hampers their use. Small boats used for SAR have to be ice hardened, and communications either with radios or with native people is a challenge. The water is very shallow far off shore on the North Slope, causing even 25’ boats to ground. In 2009, the CG flew up an H-60 and 2 25’boats, plus a dentist, a vet, and learned to build native type boats out of modern materials. The Alaska National Guard added resources to the mission, and the notion of domain awareness was taught – being that the people around the Arctic can be the eyes and ears. The CG established a native consultation course to improve communications. They worked with school kids to impart basic safety knowledge. CGC Spar and a C-130 helped move assets around, and in 2010 a polar icebreaker will join the effort. The CG sponsored a native Olympics and some of the Iditarod dog sled race. Working out of forward base in Prudhoe, they established a safety zone around drilling rigs who were exploring for possible sites. They conducted a large exercise on an oil spill.
Alcohol involvement – In California, 40% of the fatal accidents involved alcohol. Interestingly, falls contributed to the highest incidence of injuries. In Canada, we learned that the consequences for convictions for alcohol use are far more severe than in the States and involve suspension of driver licenses. A video can be seen at www.Smartboater.ca featuring people running small boats with a blood alcohol level of .05 or less than the legal limit. Their ability to maneuver was obviously impaired.
Operation Dry Water – It is scheduled for the last weekend in June, 26-27. This will be a coordinated effort detecting and enforcing BUI. Any state can participate at any level. In 2009, 5 states did not participate with increased patrols with BUI check points. Face book, Twitter and web sites broadcast PSA’s announcing the program and an on line reporting method brought results in by Monday for the media. 283 citations were issued across the land, more than 25 states issue all year. 17,690 vessels were checked in all.
Powerboat hands on training – The National Strategic Plan calls for this training and advanced education but there are no standards in place. Several organizations are currently conducting this type of on water training, plus commercial providers, and some best practices are being formed.
I attended several breakout sessions, one on marine surveyors which was very interesting. NSBC put on a session featuring the Inflatable Life Jacket Kit, and I attended a session given by the CG LE Academy on equipment carriage requirements.
There was a day and a half of outdoor activities, including 4 contests, Olympic style, such as volley ball and races. The North won the grand prize.
The networking opportunity was terrific, and I was able to sit with the major players that will sponsor the Tour for Life, a Florida National Safe Boating Week event which will put a jet boat in the water in Jacksonville and run it to Miami, about a 400 mile trip down the ICW. At each overnight stop, a media event is planned. I was invited to the National Water Safety Congress Awards Luncheon, and witnessed many people being recognized by the Congress. One Auxiliary flotilla garnered three awards, another claimed a Regional Award, and Paul Newman, RBS Specialist D11 also received a Regional Award. I also attended the United Safe Boating Institute board meeting, whose minutes will be distributed later. All in all, a very successful Summit.
Bill Griswold
