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NOTICES/INFORMATION FOR BOATERS |
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NEWS
From
BoatUs...
BoatUS Reaches Milestone 50,000 Radio Registrations
One-button Mayday Feature Improves Marine Safety
Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has registered its 50,000th boat owner with an enhanced VHF radio that will greatly improve their safety on the water. The registrations are part of a free service the Association launched in 2000 to enable boaters to take advantage of the U.S. Coast Guard’s new Rescue 21 coastal radio system. Rescue 21 enhances distress communications, speeds up search and rescue
response time, provides more accurate direction-finding, and eliminates VHF radio coverage gaps.
BoatUS was the first non-government entity to offer registration of VHF radios with the Digital Selective Calling (DSC) feature under an agreement with the Coast Guard and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Registration is necessary to obtain a Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number, which is then programmed into the radio by the boater. In an emergency, the MMSI is encoded in the SOS transmission,
which will also help reduce hoax distress calls.
By registering a DSC VHF radio with BoatUS, key information such as a boat description and owner contact phone numbers, is logged into the Coast Guard’s national MMSI database used by search and rescue personnel. The greatest benefit of a DSC radio is its ability to connect to a GPS or Loran receiver and automatically transmit the position of the vessel in distress, along with the MMSI number, all with the push of one
“mayday” button.
Click here to read the full press release...
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From
BoatUs...
President Signs Clean Boating Act LegislationALEXANDRIA, VA, July 30, 2008 -- Aboard Air Force One late yesterday, President Bush signed S. 2766, “The Clean Boating Act of 2008,” which permanently restores a long-standing exemption for recreational boats from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. This signing of the bill is the capstone moment of a two-year campaign to eliminate
an onerous permit program for recreational boaters that would have dictated maintenance and operation procedures, potentially subjected boaters to citizen lawsuits, and put recreational boats under a penalty system designed for industrial polluters.
With the President at the signing are (left) Representatives Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH), a champion of this common sense legislation and (center) Patrick Tiberi (R-OH).
BoatUS has worked with the National Marine Manufacturers Association and a coalition of stakeholders as well as a bi-partisan group of House and Senate legislators. “However, the real success of this campaign rests squarely on the shoulders of this country’s millions of recreational boaters and anglers,” said BoatUS Vice President of Government Affairs Margaret Podlich. “Without their loud collective voice, we would not have reached this momentous
event.”
BoatUS is the nation’s leading advocate for recreational boat owners with over 650,000 members.
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