It is National Boat Safety Week, and the Coast Guard has provided many great tips for having an enjoyable and safe time on the water.
While you may know how big the Coast Guard is on safety, you might not realize how serious they are about hoaxes, which Lt. Davey Connor explains on the official Coast Guard Blog.
According to Connor,
in 2012, a single hoax caller prompted a 21-hour search on the Great Lakes when he reported a distress flare coming up from a boat as he flew over Lake Erie near Cleveland. His lie drew a 140-foot U.S. Coast Guard cutter, three smaller rescue boats, a rescue helicopter and a Canadian C-130 Hercules airplane.
The caller later admitted his lie and pleaded guilty to making a false distress call. A federal judge sentenced him to serve three months in prison and pay restitution of $277,000 to the U.S. Coast Guard and $212,000 to the Canadian Armed Forces. Those staggering numbers reflect how expensive search-and-rescue operations can be.
The Coast Guard seeks out, apprehends and prosecutes hoax callers that threaten the ability to save lives, but we rely on members of the boating public too.
Connor offers boaters two big pieces of advice that he says will make a difference in saving lives:
1. Do not tolerate anyone sending hoax calls.
2. Do not let children play near radio equipment.
For more on this and other boating safety tips, check out the Coast Guard’s Official Blog.