GL: Fw: VSCs on Coast Guard Patrolled Waters

[Dan & Peggy]

Lets not over look the obvious.  Items checked during  a voluntary safety
check in and of their nature, can change.  Some examples.  Number of
passengers on board can increase thereby resulting in a shortage of PFD's,
fire extinguishers can go flat or be used, batteries can become unsecured and
the list goes on.  There is simply no legal requirement for Law Enforcement to
not inspect  a boat even though it  has been inspected previously and displays
a sticker.
A voluntary boat inspection does educate the boat operator as to what
condition and type of safety equipment will be expected during a boat
inspection by a law enforcement officer and therein lies its' worth, which is
quite enough.   No one needs to 'sell' an inspectee by implying the VSC
sticker will keep them from being inspected on the water in the future.

D. Bowers
  ----- Original Message -----
  From: D C *Mac* Macdonald
  To: Great Loop List
  Sent: Wednesday, March 26, 2008 7:24 PM
  Subject: GL: Fw: VSCs on Coast Guard Patrolled Waters


  This was following was published by the United States Power Squadrons,
  National VSC (Vessel Safety Check) Chair Bob Miller.

  Forwarded for your information.

  ** D C "Mac" Macdonald **
  * m/v Another Adventure *
  ** '95 Carver 355 ACMY **
  * Grand Lake - Oklahoma *
  ** USPS & AGLCA (#217) **
  * K2GKK -- USAF/retired *


  _____________________________________________________________

  Ahoy VEs,

  The situation described below may apply to Coast Guard patrolled waters
  in areas other than the one reference below so I am sending this out to
  all VEs for information.

  ================================

  One of the Squadron VSC Chairs in D16 brought to my attention that he had
  reports of USCG boarding officers possibly not recognizing the VSC decal as
  representing a valid safety review of the boat or something to that effect.
  Prompted by his inquiry I contacted the responsible people in the local
Coast
  Guard Sector Office to make them aware of the possible problem. To
  summarize the discussions, everyone I spoke with agreed that the patrols
  should recognize the value of the VSC process and the VSC Decal. However,
  the situation on the water is evolving and the Coast Guard is trying to do
  more random boarding to improve their awareness and training. This means
  that some boats will be boarded in spite of having a current VSC decal.
This
  should not be viewed as a failure of our VSC program but rather a
  confirmation
  that our CG folks are trying to stay on top of their game.

  Fewer boats on the water will likely mean that any boat out there has a
  higher
  probability of a random sample boarding.

  Vessel Examiners have a role in this process. We should be helping to set
  peoples' expectations. We should advise boat owners and operators that,
  though the decal will likely reduce the probability of a random boarding,
it
  certainly does not guaranty it. We should also be making boaters aware
  that CG presence and random boarding will have a high probability of
  increasing anytime the security threat increases for any reason.

  Thanks for all you folks do to save lives.

  Best Regards,

  R/C Bob Miller
  VSC Committee
  _______________________________________________
  http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/listinfo/great-loop

  To modify your Great-Loop subscription options (change email address,
  unsubscribe, etc.) go to:
http://lists.samurai.com/mailman/options/great-loop