Alaskan Sea-Duction
Guru
- Joined
- Jul 6, 2012
- Messages
- 8,061
- Location
- USA
- Vessel Name
- Alaskan Sea-Duction
- Vessel Make
- 1988 M/Y Camargue YachtFisher
Maybe our local "bikini inspection patrol" will stay at the dock til a SAR mission comes up...
The government has two choices: Cut spending or raise taxes. It appears the voter's choice was to cut spending. Of course everyone has their own ideas of what should be cut and what should not.
Maybe they will stop boarding trawlers operated by old white couples.
Actually the current plan . . . raises taxes on some while lowering on others.
When did the USCG not want to tow in the pleasure boaters who ran out of gas, etc? About the late '70's early '80's I think. The well know towing agencies do this now.
Is it a big step to have SeaTow run helos with cable lifts?
I have not yet seen a County sheriff helo with a lift. It will be quite a learning curve.
The USCG's mission has changed over time. They are now under "Homeland Security" and geared more towards keeping drugs and illegal aliens out of the country than assisting recreational boaters.
If your life is in danger, they will try to save you. Your boat, not so much.
We used to have a network of Auxiliaries who did complimentary vessel inspections, towed vessels, and were generally visible locally. They have disappeared and now when there is a disabled vessel you can hear the Coast Guard attempting to find someone to assist without committing themselves to anything more than being the intermediary on the VHF.
The Auxiliary was mostly older (that would be me now) trawler owners who were re-imbursed for their activities (fuel only). Most of the rescue seems to be done these days by commercial fishing vessels once you are out of the harbor area. There is only one commercial tow operator in the area and they are mostly involved in other enterprises than towing, like kayak drop off charters and ferrying people to remote lodges.
It seems that government and regulation has crushed volunteerism, in the name of free enterprise and safety. Kids can't even pick up trash along the roadside anymore without an insurance policy covering them through a parent organization.
Sometimes what we call progress doesn't look like progress...