Marine Safety Academy

Make it back "without a scratch". Consult your local tide tables, figure out what your boat's air draft is and use your charts to determine bridge heights early on during your approach. Stay safety minded out there!



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When the water gets stiff Winter work gets underway.

Everyday is a great day to talk safety. And Winter (especially if you boat in Northern waters) is a great time to tackle boat projects and marine maintenance -- for us, it's fabricating a floating work platform.

It's also a great time to revisit Standard Operating Procedures (SOP)s and Safety Planning for whatever kind of boating you do.

Check safety equipment like fire extinguishers, carbon monoxide detectors. Check electrical wiring. Check your entire anchor line and fittings... the list goes on.

Safety is something we can all do better and this is just a thought starter to pause for a 'Moment of Safety' this winter to make sure you and your equipment is good to go.

Stay safety-minded out there!

Dear Shelter Cats, a majority of my Winter plans can be accomplished in this position.

🐾 Luna

Remembering Lieutenant James Earl Carter Jr., USN
39th American President

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Today's boating forecast in Detroit: Chilly, 17 degrees -- Stay winter safety aware. To our fellow Mariners in the North working aboard through frigid temps, stay safety minded and avoid mid-winter complacency. Wear proper PPE -- be mindful of exposed skin, wear PFDs, keep a lookout for (and remove) potential slip, trip and fall hazards. And keep a watch on each other.

Military responds to protect merchant shipping routes in the Red Sea -- U.S. military and its allies on Thursday, January 11 conducted major retaliatory strikes in Yemen hitting multiple Houthi targets in an effort to disrupt radar capabilities after several months of drone and missile attacks by the Iranian-backed rebels that have menaced merchant shipping in the Red Sea.
Imperiling international shipping and forcing shipping companies to divert cargo out of the Red Sea and Suez Canal.
A U.S. administration official said the Houthis are "firing indiscriminately. Reckless attacks have directly affected the citizens and cargo and commercial interests of more than 50 countries," the official said.

In related incident, in December four Houthi boats tried to seize a merchant vessel. U.S. helicopters responded to the ship's distress call, the boats opened fire on the helicopters. The aircraft returned fire, sinking three of the boats.

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Assemble a 'ditch bag' with devices that will help you communicate with and be seen by rescuers. Additional items can be packed in the bag depending on the size of your boat and the waters you're in. An important supplement to your life raft and its supplies that enhances safety aboard any boat.

Comment items you recommend for a ditch bag, some commonly listed items include:
EPIRB
Handheld VHF with built-in GPS
Sat phone (or cell phone near shore)
Signal Mirror
Radar Reflector
Knife
Vitamins

What's on your ditch bag list?


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Careful piloting and proper maintenance help keep everyone safer.

Practice Predictability -- when in the vicinity of large 'stand on' vessels, make course changes at a safe distance and in deliberate, obvious ways so the Master at the wheel of the stand on vessel can clearly understand your intent (especially those large steel vessels that can crush little plastic boats to bits). Learn the rules of the road and stay safety minded out there.

At rest after 70 years of keeping watch.