Boat Smart Column Reader Feedback

• "The paper is enriched by the column of Tom Rau. He has a deep sensitivity to and knowledge of the moods and power of Lake Michigan, as well as a genuine concern for boater's safety. His two-part article about the Bittersweet sailboat was fascinating. I had to dig out the older paper, which told as news, to read again the details of the rescue". Vera Bay, Letter to the Editor, Ludington Daily News.
• "I wanted to tell you how much I enjoy your column! We have been boaters in Ludington for thirty years...I wish every boater read and followed your advice...Again, thanks for writing your column. I think they're wonderful." Mary Jo DeMorrow, Technology Coordinator, Ludington Area Schools. email.
• "Thanks for the columns, Chief. They really play well here in Michigan City". Lee A. Schelling, reporter, The News-Dispatch, Michigan City, Ind. email.
• "My name is Michael Monohan and I'm writing you to let you know how much I like your column in the Benzie County Record Patriot. Although I'm not a boater, I find your columns helpful nonetheless, thanks." Michael Monahan, Ada, Michigan. email.
• "So glad I have the opportunity to write and tell you how much I enjoy your Boat Smart column. It's the first thing I read in the paper every week. I'm always sorry to see it end in the fall. I don't live on the water (never have), and don't own a boat (never will). Can't even remember the last time I was on the water. But I enjoy reading your column because you are such an excellent writer. I'm sure there are folks that are still alive today because they read and heeded Boat Smart." Bob Nevius, Lansing. email.
• "I would like to use your articles (website) to reinforce the safety aspects of boating. I've read many of your articles and although they are sometimes specific to the Western Michigan boater, much of your information is generic to all boaters." Marcia Adelman, ecommerce website, Texas. email.
• "Just surfed into the Boat Smart column. Excellent writing-very interesting, informative and exciting." John Morris, Berlin Lake, Ohio. email.
• " Dear Tom, I read your column virtually every week in either the Benzie Patriot or Manistee News Advocate. The motion of Boat Smart is excellent- your writing is well done and crisps. I thank you for doing it." Kathy Huston, Aracdia, Michigan. Postal letter.
• "I'm a landlubber, don't own a boat, seldom have the opportunity to ride in one...I have enclosed my photo wearing a life jacket, preparing to take a pontoon boat ride on an inland lake. My otherwise very bright 87-year-old pilot and brother had grinned at my request for the equipment- "Hey," I responded, "things happen." Your admonitions have made a believer out of me, and I thank you for all of your service to seafarers." Merry Hermansen, Brighton, Michigan. Postal letter
• "I enjoy your columns and try to learn from other people's mistakes that you document. Keep up the good work- on the water and in the paper." Charlie Pollard, Ludington, Michigan, email
• "Senior Chief Rau: keep up the good work-being a boater myself I find some of your articles very informative. My family and I sail all over Lake Michigan and from time to time see some real ignorant things happen. The more information you can relate the better." Marc Anderson, Lake Michigan sailor, email.
• "Dear Chief Rau: I love Boat Smart and e-mail sections of it or, often, the whole thing to friends of mine. I grew up on Lake Michigan and only wish your column existed while I was boating there. Now I live in Manhattan and experience Lake Michigan vicariously. But the boating safety you promote is useful wherever there's water and I salute you for it. Thanks much." Sandy Manley, New York city, email
• "I am a sailor in northeast Florida and I read your column devoutly. Why? Your perspective is so different from mine. It causes me to stop and think about how I approach sailing. See you next year." Al McGuire, Tanstaafl a 33' Freedom cat ketch, Jacksonville Florida, email
• "Tom, I thoroughly enjoy your column and read it every time it comes out. The length is good and the stories are important." Keep up the good work. Neil King, location unknown, email
• "Dear Senior Chief Tom Rau, Boat Smart is almost a real encyclopedia of safety boating. Your advices are accurate…." Luis F. Gouveia, Lisbon, Portugal, email
• "Senior Chief Tom Rau, I have enjoyed your column throughout the boating season. Keep up the good work. I look forward to reading your column next season." Philip Hathaway, Grand Rapids, email.
• "Hi Tom, it is nice to see your newsletter up and running for another season. You have established a great readership and more importantly, many "converts". Please, keep sending it to us. CG Auxiliary, Division 8, Seattle, Washington, email
• "Hi Tom, thanks for your last article of the year. Your articles are always interesting and enlightening. Looking forward to hearing from you next year." Linda, ‘Midwest Outdoors', email.
• "Tom, you do a great job. The column is interesting, especially the interviews with the people involved. I like it when you send photos. I want to stress that the column is good. I believe it serves readers and contains an important message in a way readers react to it. In short, it's damn good." Steve Begnoche, Managing editor, Ludington Daily News, email
• "I would like to express my admiration for your articles and the quality of your writing. I have a Ph.D in English, have taught college writing courses, and appreciate good writing." Charles H. Long, St. Joseph, Michigan, email
• "Hello: in regards to your items on peeing off the side…I've spent a lifetime peeing off the stern of racing sailboats many of which don't have head facilities. Simply kneeling rather than standing lowers your center of gravity and helps you stay on the boat." Ike Stephenson, Torresen Marine, Muskegon, Michigan, email
• "Senior Chief- Congratulations on your recent selection as the Alex Haley Award winner for journalism. I think the thing that I appreciate the most is that your efforts not only raise the visibility of the Coast Guard, but more importantly, they help people by enhancing their safety. As a Coast Guardsman and recreational boater, I am doubly appreciative of your work." Roger Dubuc,Commander, U.S. Coast Guard, Group Grand Haven, Michigan, email
• "Senior Chief Rau, As a former Coast Guard officer, I appreciate what you're doing and what you have to deal with. As the current editor of the American Practical Navigator (Bowditch), I think I know the subject of maritime safety pretty well, and I don't know anyone who states the real issues more clearly and consistently than you do. You've probably saved more lives with your word processor than most USCG members with all their boats and aircraft." Dick Hubbard/Editor, American Practical Navigator (Bowditch)/Gaithersburg, MD, email
• "I try to read your articles each time they are emailed and find them interesting and though provoking. They provide an insight during a time when we could all step and think more about what we are doing. Sailing for me provides an exercise in thinking and always having an alternate plan when approaching a situation. Thanks for your article." Jeff Rappaport LaBateau Madeline.Northpoint, Michigan, email
• "Hello Chief, I enjoy your column immensely and have learned much from it. I sail pretty much year around in my old Starcat catamaran and on my Chrysler 22. Because of the difficulty of finding crew as enthusiastic about sailing in a fur hat, most of my sailing is solo. I tend to agree with your position about lifelines being a bad idea for solo sailors, but I think you state the argument a bit too strongly…Thanks for all your great work." Jim Peacock/ Sailing vessel Ghost out of Alpena MI
• "Tom -- enjoy reading your column weekly in ATWOS. I forward parts of your columns to my cohorts frequently and have quoted you in the Grand Traverse Yacht Club newsletter on occasion. www.gtyc.org … keep up the good work." Eric Lind
• "Chief Rau, Thanks for lending your expertise and time to your safety column. It's a valuable resource for all boaters and I'm sure it has already saved lives….. Sloop "Ginnie Lee III. Personal note: I was a newspaperman in Detroit for 15 years and covered just about everything. I rode with the Coasties many times and know what true heroes you folks are. You're the ones going out -- afloat or in the air -- when the rest of us are pedaling like hell for shore! From the rows of lettuce on your chest in the picture on the website, I suspect you know what I'm talking about. I salute all of you. Sincerely, Steve Thorpe" email.
• "Chief, a short note of appreciation and thanks for your Boat Smart column. It is informative and thought provoking. I race and deliver sailboats on Lakes Huron, Michigan and St. Clair. I have incorporated several of your suggestions into my preparations and practices. Most importantly I try to be safety conscious when ever I am on the water. Thank you, and please keep up the good work." Dan Moons, email
• "Tom, just wanted to thank you for the column. We appreciate it and use it every week in the Kenosha Edition with the exception of 2 or 3 weeks when we had no room. It was well written and provided our readers with good information in a compelling format. The photos were icing on the cake. Look forward to more next spring if you plan on continuing. Have a peaceful winter!" Diane Giles, editor, email
• " I just love your column in the Press (Grand Rapids Press). It always makes for a good read and is full of interesting facts - some are tragically sad, but you are doing a service to the West Michigan community by making them aware of what is really going on out there on the lakes - and how to be safe! Plus, I now more fully appreciate what the Coast Guard and other emergency agencies do in all kinds of situations. Is your column run in other papers up and down the Lake Michigan coast? It should be. Thought I'd drop you a note of encouragement!" Jessica Westra, Holland, MI email
• "Dear Chief Rau: I'm sitting here in a corporate job in Manhattan, but I grew up on Lake Michigan and reading your column is like going home again. I can see and smell the Lake. Since I'm sometimes invited to go boating with friends on Long Island Sound or on the Hudson, I'm constantly emailing or snail mailing copies of your column, which are chock full of relevant information. PLEASE think about resuming the column again in the spring. Your safely information is really, really valuable. You're saving lives you have no idea that you've even touched. Thanks so much for the joy and life-saving information you've already shared with us all. Sandy Manley former Hoosier."email
• "HI- I AM FROM BATTLE CREEK, MI. I WANTED TO WRITE AND LET YOU KNOW MY PARENTS WHO LIVE IN SCOTTVILLE SEND ME TOM RAU'S BOAT SMART ARTICLES ALL SUMMER. WE ARE BOATERS ON LAKE MICHIGAN, IN SOUTH HAVEN. I TAKE THE ARTICLES AND PASS THEM DOWN THROUGH THE MARINA TO BE READ. EVERYONE LOOKS FORWARD TO THIS. THESE ARTICLES ARE EXCELLENT! PLEASE KEEP THIS UP. WE WILL BE LOOKING FORWARD TO PASSING THEM AROUND NEXT BOATING SEASON. THANK-YOU." JUDY A. MOREY, email
• " Senior, I just read your most recent article and I for one would like to see it continued. I have selfish reasons, of course, but feel that the general public, whether boaters or not, should heed the advice of your articles. I would guess that just about everyone in their lifetime has had an opportunity to enjoy the Great Lakes at least once if not more. The information in your articles has been in my opinion very important for the safety and survival when boating either in the Great Lakes or Inland waters for that matter. I would encourage you to continue writing them. Keep up the good work." Wayne Comstock, Wolverine Mutual/Marine Insurance Underwriters. email

• "Senior, I just found your website last week and it is so great to hear from someone of your expertise! My wife & I are sailors only since '97 moving up to a Hunter 31 in 2000. We love to sail Lake Michigan and have made it a point to learn as much about sailing and safety as possible. ASA Sailing School, CGA BS&S, reading and practicing and evaluating each experience. We respect the lake and its power. Learning form others errors so we don't make the same mistake is invaluable! Please keep going and we really appreciate the Coast Guard on Lake Michigan especially from Manistee North where we sail. Thank you & best wishes."Jim & Rhonda Dafoe 'WINDARRA' Portage Lake-Onekama, Michigan, email
• Let me say "thank you" for your forthright column. I'm a boater of a few years and your insights are most interesting to me. Again, thank you." --marlin bree, email
• "Tom, excellent article- you captured the entire scope of this complex issue. You also made the point that the individual States can not regulate this segment of recreational boating- some national PWC standard need to be established. Thanks for sharing it with me." Commander, John Ochs, U.S. Coast Guard, Long Beach, California, email.
• "Congratulations! Your superb and prolific writing on behalf of the Coast Guard helped to raise visibility for our service and earned First Place honors as an author in the 2000 Alex Haley Awards. I especially appreciated your successful formula of using current news events as salient discussions topics. I'm certain that there are families today grateful that their loved ones changed their boating habits for the better after reading your safety advice. Thank you for a job well done!" K.J. Eldridge, Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, personal flag Letter