bobparis
09-24-2009, 08:14 AM
I logged in this morning and was scared by what I saw. A poll was posted and what it displayed I believe was a shocking disregard for common sense, good seamanship and the law.
The poll said:
What do you usually listen to when you are fishing?
Local radio 10.47%
iPod / CDs 17.91%
Golden silence 71.62%
Start Date: 8/20/09 - End Date: 9/20/09 Total Votes: 296
Golden silence 71.62% ??? :omg: Fishing does NOT exempt you from the duties and responsibilities of proper operation of your boat, people!!
If you are on the saltwater then your boat SHOULD be equipped with a VHF radio. What I was taught (grandfather and father as well as being on working boats) was it was the DUTY of every boater (CAPTAIN) to properly maintain comms on the VHF in order to ensure safety and render assitance and uphold the "Law of the Sea".
If you have a VHF-FM radio, there are certain regulations in place for monitoring/listening to your radio.
If you hear a distress call...
If you hear a distress message from a vessel and it is not answered, then you must answer. If you are reasonably sure that the distressed vessel is not in your vicinity, you should wait a short time for others to acknowledge.
Legally the USCG has specific Radio Watchkeeping Regulations:
"In general, any vessel equipped with a VHF marine radiotelephone (whether voluntarily or required to) must maintain a watch on channel 16 (156.800 MHz) whenever the radiotelephone is not being used to communicate."
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/watch.htm
I am not a lawyer but the poll shows a disregard for the law and safety.
The poll said:
What do you usually listen to when you are fishing?
Local radio 10.47%
iPod / CDs 17.91%
Golden silence 71.62%
Start Date: 8/20/09 - End Date: 9/20/09 Total Votes: 296
Golden silence 71.62% ??? :omg: Fishing does NOT exempt you from the duties and responsibilities of proper operation of your boat, people!!
If you are on the saltwater then your boat SHOULD be equipped with a VHF radio. What I was taught (grandfather and father as well as being on working boats) was it was the DUTY of every boater (CAPTAIN) to properly maintain comms on the VHF in order to ensure safety and render assitance and uphold the "Law of the Sea".
If you have a VHF-FM radio, there are certain regulations in place for monitoring/listening to your radio.
If you hear a distress call...
If you hear a distress message from a vessel and it is not answered, then you must answer. If you are reasonably sure that the distressed vessel is not in your vicinity, you should wait a short time for others to acknowledge.
Legally the USCG has specific Radio Watchkeeping Regulations:
"In general, any vessel equipped with a VHF marine radiotelephone (whether voluntarily or required to) must maintain a watch on channel 16 (156.800 MHz) whenever the radiotelephone is not being used to communicate."
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/marcomms/watch.htm
I am not a lawyer but the poll shows a disregard for the law and safety.