US Coast Guard Requirements

The CG
can inspect kayakers and sometimes they do. The Recreational Boating and Safety Patrols they conduct include just that. They shut down the West Coast Kayak Symposium a few years back until everyone who was out on the water, even those testing out boats, had a whistle. As far as port security, they are a multi-mission agency, to include SAR, L/E, ports, waterways and water front facility security, as well as commerical vessel licensing and licensing of merchant seamen. The list goes on.



Making sure someone in a kayak has the required items is just as important as any other mission. They are there to help. A display of attitude won’t be very appreciated.

I Have Been Stopped
Once paddling, about six times sailing, and twice in a motor boat. Every experience I have had with the USCG has been good, they were respectful, curtious, and seemed more interested in my safety than just following the numbers.



In terms of overall safety of the waterways many times the number of boaters get into trouble due to lack of proper equipment and experience than those that get into trouble due to security issues. My opinion is that the USCG has it about right in terms of what they do and how they do it. One of the few government organizations that I feel that way about.



Happy Paddling,



Mark

TRY TO UINDERSTAND the COAST GUARD

– Last Updated: Jun-19-06 1:38 PM EST –

Paddle Pirate - I hope you're Kidding! . .
The Coast Guard is woefully undermanned and underfunded since their attachment to "Homeland Security" and security is their main mission now, combined with Emergency Search and Rescue! They Guard Ports and Inspect Merchant ships now and that's what we pay them to do. Recreational boating should be a very low priority.

I respectfully disagree.

– Last Updated: Jun-19-06 2:17 PM EST –

"Homeland security is their main mission now."

Where are you getting this information from? Search and rescue will always be the NUMBER ONE
mission of the Coast Guard. Period.

As far as under manning and under funded, no agruement on my part. They have always been that way. The CG is, and has always been, the red headed step child of the military. Do more with less has been the motto for quite a fews years, but things are starting to slowly change.
New Cutters, new aircraft and more billets (personnel) are slowly creeping in. Again, the CG is a multi-mission agency. They run the gammit from SAR to patrols in the Persian Gulf.

"Recreational boating should be a low priority."

Recreational boating and search and rescue go hand in hand. The majority of SAR cases -are- from recreational boaters and that includes kayakers. There are a lot of folks out on the water who don't really know a lot about safe
boating and there are others who need a swift kick in the pants. One of those ways is by being boarded.

An ounce of prevention can prevent a SAR case from happening. And frankly, it makes my life a little bit easier because I am one of the many who has to plan their rescue. You know what I hear most from them when they are rescued? "Thank you" and "If only I'd..."

if you ever got stopped
you go ahead and tell them what their mission is and that they should do it because that is what WE pay them to do…







Let us know how that works out for you.

I had a guy
in non-distress, ran out of gas and was safely anchored, demand that we go out and get him. The old “I pay your salary!” and “What do I pay taxes for?” was yelled. Told him sure we’d go out and get him, I’ll launch my helicopter and pluck him right off his boat. He took on a different tone afterward. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

Coast Guard regs trump Texas regs.
Its good that states have their own safety laws but you always need to be aware of where you are.

Texas requires a bright light be shown at all times and that applies to most rivers and lakes but if you are paddling on the Gulf or in say Laguna Madre or up by Port Aransas , the USCG rules apply, meaning you need the approved devices which would include flares. If you are longer than 16’, you have to comply with both day and night regs, shorter than 16’ you need night only.

Only if you are outside the boundaries
of enforcement for TPWD, those would include, as I said in my original post on the subject, inland waterways, including bays and the Laguna. The Coast Guard reg plus the Texas regs apply in those situations.

Flares
Thanks for the replies…



I found a good deal on flares at Wallmart…$20.00 set of three…they have them behind the counter…my experation date is Oct 09’

YES IT IS NOW SECURITY
Our local detachment and vessal spend at least 90% of their time and manpower on our International Port Security and have no time or little interest in recreational boating or equipment checks on individual Kayaks.

USCG / Al Marine Police / TVA / DOE

– Last Updated: Jun-20-06 9:45 AM EST –

I find that here in ALABAMA, (Yes, good ol' Alabammy...) when I'm approched by the authorities, once they get close enough to see my Bright yellow PFD has a VHF, Strobe and Air Horn visible on the surface, and the Spare paddle and Bilge pump on the Deck, they simply motor on by...

I'm a rare paddler for these parts, I paddle the edges of the Barge Channels a lot, often FAR from the banks, and that draws attention.

a CGI marker light on a PVC mount keeps a 360 degree light above my head and behind my left shoulder at night....

http://community.webshots.com/photo/549155742/2718248950085545788EAdyEp

your expiration date???
kinda harsh to know when you are going to expire…better planning though!

Technically
The USCG can (and does) pull you over on any Texas body of water (especially the Dallas area lakes) although you see them mostly working the big public boat ramps (they usually check your gear before you get in the water and just give you a warning), so its always best to comply with their standards as it applies to where you are going to paddle.

There’s no difference between TPWD
standards and the state standards on inland waterways for canoes and kayaks not motorized…whistle, pfd, are the basics, then for night, the lights per both.

Stopping
I am Coast Guard and I know the local mission: Port Security

sure whatever…

– Last Updated: Jun-21-06 12:47 PM EST –

care to give me your unit # and Commanders name so I can run it by him? I bet while he may say that homeland is a biggie, Safety is till the mission.



Come on what the name and number?

Mission
I just read about varing opinions of just what the mission of the USCG is. So, I went to their website and here it is:



The United States Coast Guard is a military, multi-mission, maritime service and one of the nation’s five Armed Services. Its mission is to protect the public, the environment, and U.S. economic interests – in the nation’s ports and waterways, along the coast, on international waters, or in any maritime region as required to support national security.







Today, the Coast Guard will:



• Save 15 lives

• Assist 114 people in distress

• Protect $4.9 million in property

• Interdict 26 illegal migrants at sea

• Conduct 82 search and rescue cases

• Seize $2.4 million worth of illegal drugs

• Conduct 23 waterfront facility safety or security inspections

• Respond to 11 oil and hazardous chemical spills

• Board 202 vessels of law enforcement interest




Symantics
You stated the -Coast Guard’s- mission is Port Security, not -your- specific unit’s mission. There’s a big difference. Not all CG units are tasked with SAR as their primary mission, however, if the Sector tasks you with SAR response, are you going to say no? Obviously, providing you are not in the middle of a mission or evolution.


Actual experience

– Last Updated: Jun-21-06 8:41 PM EST –

I just caught the stuff from waterdog above saying no one is bothering to check out kayakers. And heck, if his/her unit is in the New York Harbor I'd guess the only thing they are doing is keeping kayakers away from secure areas.

However, there aren't a lot of comparably high end security ports in the smaller harbors as you go up along the Maine Coast and further away from Portland. I would be real interested in seeing how an oil tanker could fit between the lobster boats in Friendship Harbor. But the Coast Guard is there, we have been looked over, and even around Portland the Coast Guard has done a bunch of rescues of stranded paddlers over the years.

Yes, Similar Here
We do have a small port in Wilmington and I am sure that the CG spends time and effort checking the 2-3 ships per week that visit. On the other hand we have several USCG stations that are located in very small harbors not anywhere near a shipping port, like Wrightsville Beach station. They have one motor launch and a hald dozen or so RIB boats that may be seen daily operating around the area. It is far from unusual to see them stop a boat for a safety check or to see them go out the Inlet to provide assistance to a boat in distress.



I am sure that as the USCG is a multi mission outfit that their mission changes with where they are located and the demands placed on them at any one particulat time.



I am very happy to have them around.



Mark