[PUP] Fw: BoatUS News: New BoatUS Radio Tower Gives Mexico Bound Boaters Peace Of Mind

[Ron Rogers]

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Ron

----- Original Message -----
From: BoatUS News
To: rcrogers6 at kennett.net



      NEWS From BoatUS
      Boat Owners Association of The United States
      880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, VA 22304
      BoatUS News Room at http://www.BoatUS.com/news/releases.asp

      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
      Press Contact: Scott Croft, 703-461-2864, SCroft at BoatUS.com


      New BoatUS Radio Tower Gives Mexico Bound Boaters Peace Of Mind



      Communications Improve With New VHF Transmitter Atop San Miguel Mountain


      NEWPORT BEACH, CA, July 28, 2008 - When boats break down on the water or
run out of gas, West Coast boaters often rely on Vessel Assist, the
on-the-water towing company from BoatUS, to help with a tow back to a safe
harbor, fuel drop off or jump start.

      However, Mexico bound boaters have struggled for years in obtaining
US-based non-emergency assistance. "It was a problem because cell phones don't
work well in Mexican waters and most boats were simply too far south of the
border for us to hear their VHF radio calls." said BoatUS Assistant Vice
President of Towing Operations Heather Sheward.

      That has now all changed

      Ensenada boaters can now call for help thanks to the opening of a new
BoatUS VHF radio transmission tower atop San Diego's 2,505-foot high San
Miguel Mountain. With its high elevation, the new radio tower gives boaters
who may be dozens of miles down the Mexican coast or fishing offshore the
ability to contact Vessel Assist through the BoatUS 24-hour dispatch center
with a simple VHF radio call.

      "With VHF radio technology, elevation is the name of the game because
it's 'line-of-sight' communications," said Sheward. "So the higher the radio
tower antenna, the greater the distance we can reach disabled vessels, giving
boaters a more reliable way to call for assistance. We are now routinely
communicating with Ensenada harbor pilots as well as an increasing amount of
anglers on the Cortez Bank, about 100 miles south-southwest of San Diego," she
added.

      Linked to the BoatUS dispatch center in Newport Beach via a high-speed
communications line, the San Miguel tower is the newest component in a
land-based VHF communications system that includes a series of elevated radio
towers along the Pacific coast covering major boating ports stretching from
Seattle now to Ensenada. It is the only VHF communications system of its kind
used by an on-the-water towing company in the US.

      For more information about Vessel Assist "Unlimited" towing plans from
BoatUS, go to http://www.BoatUS.com/VesselAssist or call 800-888-4869.