Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Dramatic rescue combines Coast Guard Auxiliary and uniformed Coast Guard personnel – and PWC
posted by John Donaldson
The rescue of a plane crash survivor in an out of the way corner of Alaska on September 22, 2007, is the basis of a dramatic story that includes personal watercraft. The full story is on the Coast Guard Auxiliary’s e-zine site http://www.teamcoastguard.org .
The part of the story that resonates with me is the fortunate coincidences that brought together a collection of unrelated people at the crucial moment to save a woman’s life. There were the recreational hikers (and paramedic) who found the site, the recreational boaters with a radio, the Coast Guard Auxiliary who happened to be nearby conducting a training exercise, and the uniformed Coast Guard in a helicopter doing a routine aerial inspection of aids to navigation.
As you read the story, imagine all these people who with no advance planning and no experience working together, were able to save a life. The tragic loss of the pilot’s life could easily have been compounded had not the collection of skilled and trained people been available at that place at that moment.
Yes the Kawasaki JET SKI® watercraft on loan to the Coast Guard Auxiliary played a role, but no more crucial than the skills, coolness, and training of the many individuals involved. The Dean’s hat is off to everyone involved and I am honored that those Alaskan Coast Guard Auxiliarists are part of the PWC nation.
Friday, November 09, 2007
History of the PWC Nation – Part I
posted by John Donaldson
Over this past weekend, the L.A. Times ran an article about the indoctrination of recent high school graduates into the U.S. Marine Corps. http://www.latimes.com One of the things I noted in the article is that these young men and women are instructed on Marine Corps history – the past achievements of the Corps in previous times of trouble.
Many of you who have had military service may also have experienced a similar process of orientation to the past successes of your service branch in the face of adversity.
But I’ll bet that since you joined the all-volunteer PWC nation, no one has spent time telling you of your PWC nation’s past accomplishments. The AWA does a good job of covering contemporary efforts but the history of the good work fades from memory quickly.
On the other hand, there are a number of entities such as NOAA and several so-called environmental groups who will tell you and the whole world about alleged problems with the PWC nation. I would like to level the field a bit with a review good things in the nation’s past.
Much of what has been accomplished with PWC has been in conjunction with the overall marine industry. A complete 24 page review of the industry’s aquatic stewardship can be found at http://www.nmma.org under the government tab. Following below are what strike me as key issues where the PWC nation has responded to issues is a positive and timely manner.
Rapid conversion from 2 stroke to 4 stroke engines is, in my mind, the number one advancement in the PWC nation. Less than ten years ago, there was not a single 4 stroke powered PWC available anywhere in the world. For 2008, ONLY around four 2 stroke PWC models are being sold which represent less than 5% of next year’s new boats. Arguably the most important step in this conversion process has been the members of the nation readily accepting the new technology.
To me, the second major milestone in PWC use has been the equally rapid adoption of mandatory boater education in many states. At last count, about 45 states and U.S. Territories had one sort of provision or another for mandatory boating safety education. http://www.nasbla.org The PWC nation was the very first group of boaters to get onboard with support for mandatory boating safety training. This initiative sent the unmistakable message to all the PWC naysayers that the PWC nation stood for safe and responsible boating and would go to class to prove it.
In future postings I will set forth more of the positive accomplishments in the PWC nation to help all members understand that we are responsible members and leaders in the boating community.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Golden Gate National Recreation Area churns ever onward unfettered by PWC usage.
posted by John Donaldson
The really insidious part of bans by federal resource agencies like the National Parks Service (NPS) is that they are essentially a death sentence for PWC access where ever they are enacted. A horrid example is Golden Gate National Recreation area http://www.nps.gov/goga . GOGA is essentially encompasses all the shore line of San Francisco and the headlands across Golden Gate from San Francisco.
While part of the National Park system, it is designated as a National Recreation Area – unless your form of recreation is a PWC. Precise details such as a good map of the area are a bit hard to find but GOGA has approximately 22 miles of shore line including one excellent launch ramp – and your PWC is expressly and specifically denied access. In fact if you visit the web site you will find that over half the photos of GOGA include view of the ocean where you can’t take your PWC.
Now the horrid example is that for all the alleged reasons PWC were prohibited ten years ago, there is no remedy, no parole, no commutation of the sentence. You are banned FOREVER. There is no modification to the design of the PWC or of the PWC engine that will allow renewed access.
Sure, the IRS still collects your taxes, and congress still appropriates tax funds for upkeep of national parks, just don’t expect them ever to allow you back into this and other parks where you have been banned.
To complete the incredulousness of this individual story is that within 10 miles of GOGA are three of the major oil refineries in California and tankers are constantly cruising in and out of the GOGA waters. There are also major interstate highways that bisect this Park and there are well over 100 miles of San Francisco City streets and county roads within the Recreation Area over which drives every sort of car, truck, bus and motorscooter. But you cannot operate a PWC along a single inch of those 22 miles of coast line.
AWA is currently fighting for access in Biscayne Bay National Park – which incidentally contains a nuclear power plant but no PWC. When we get PWC back in Biscayne, you can rest assured that I will be pushing for action on Golden Gate.
