Coast Guard Auxiliary Completes 47 Free Vessel Safety Inspections

Large crowd on the rainy docks of Roche Harbor Marina, September 9, 2017 – Contributed photo

Volunteers from The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary 13th Coast Guard District, Flotilla 11 San Juan Islands Detachment provided 47 boaters free vessel safety examinations on Saturday, Sept. 9 at Roche Harbor Marina on San Juan Island.

The free vessel safety examinations were conducted on a rainy Saturday during the annual Ranger Tug Rendezvous at Roche Harbor, where the owners of more than 180 of the vessels gathered to learn more about boating safety, share information about their vessels and socialize.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary members from San Juan and Orcas Islands made a presentation to vessel owners about boating safety and procedures to confidently operate their vessels for safe boating pleasure. Following the presentation, the auxiliary members completed 47 vessel safety examinations, as well as providing other information [to] answer many public questions on boating safety.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary provides free vessel inspections for all boaters including power vessels, sailboats and paddle craft. For more information about getting your vessel inspected, contact David Tribolet (360) 376-3994.

U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarists debriefing after completing 47 vessel safety examinations. From Left to Right: David Tribolet; Chuck Dalldorf; John Salinas; Thomas Oconner, Susan Eberhard and Gary Ford – Contributed photo

For more information about safe boating information, the U.S. Coast Guard has an excellent website located at www.uscgboating.org The website has boating information, alerts, news, regulations, recalls and safety defects, statistics. The website is dedicated to reducing loss of life, injuries and property damage on U.S. waterways

The U.S. Coast Guard has a free Boating Safety app available. Features of the app include state boating information; a safety equipment checklist; free boating safety check requests; navigation rules; float plans; and calling features to report pollution or suspicious activity. When location services are enabled, users can receive the latest weather reports from the closest National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather buoys as well as report the location of a hazard on the water. The app also features an Emergency Assistance button which, with locations services enabled, will call the closest Coast Guard command center. Information on the free app is available https://www.uscg.mil/mobile/

The Boating Safety Mobile app was not designed to replace a boater’s marine VHF radio, which the Coast Guard strongly recommends all boaters have aboard their vessels. The app was mainly designed to provide additional boating safety resources for mobile device users.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed civilian component of the U.S. Coast Guard and supports the Coast Guard in nearly all mission areas. The Auxiliary was created by Congress in 1939. For more information, please visit www.cgaux.org.

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