  High Res Photo Boaters of Oz at play- click on “High Res Photo”. Photos by Senior Chief Tom Rau Boaters of Oz Poster September 16, 2004 A reporter once asked Judy Garland where is the land of Oz? The film star of the 1939 box office smash, the “Wizard of Oz” said: “It’s not a place you can get to by a train or boat.” I don’t know about trains, but boaters often do visit Oz through a mindset that views the entire Lake Michigan marine environment as a giant Oz-like aquatic playground. But unlike the Oz fables originated in the year 1900 by American writer Frank Baum, wherein his fictional characters seldom died- notwithstanding the East, West Wicked Witches- far too many do die in the Oz-land of recreational boating. Why? Because some boaters seem unable to understand that a serene environment that appears Oz-like can, in fact, be the Wicked Witches’ brew. The following concoction of stories reveals whether it be witches’ brew or not that far too many boaters seem to be under a spell when it comes to their own safety. Dave Gummere, a Coast Guard Auxiliarist in the Twin Bay Flotilla, Traverse City, lives on Karlin Road near Buckley. It’s a popular route to Highway 37 for boaters heading to Traverse City or the Leelanau peninsula. He watches a steady stream of vehicles hauling boats in early May and continuing through the summer months. “I hear cars trailing boats with their bearings squealing. I see boats sitting cockeyed on trailers and gear flying off boats, like life jackets. I found one in its original plastic wrap. I pick up boat lines, fenders, life rings, rain coats… If they are that mindless about towing their boats and stowing their gear, how mindless are they on the water?” said Gummere. I later spoke with Gummmere in the spring of 2004, and he said: “I’m looking forward to collecting a new batch of road side goodies. Mid summer, I can hold a giant garage sale featuring marine supplies.” Gummere agrees with me that this heedlessness stems from an Oz-land-like mindset that fails to even recognize a need for safety equipment. This free-and-easy mentality reveals itself during Coast Guard auxiliary courtesy vessel safety checks on recreational boats that on an average produce a 33-percent failure rate (Lake Michigan), many failures stem from a lack of safety equipment. Coast Guard Auxilarist Freda Herman told me while conducting a vessel safety check at a Manistee marina in 2003, a woman called her husband on a cell phone twice to ask for the location of safety equipment on the boat I spoke with Freda at the end of August and she said that 41-percent of the 266 boats the Manistee flotilla has inspected during 2004 failed due to lack of safety equipment. She told me while inspecting an 18-foot boat the operator told her that he wasn’t even aware the safety items were required. “At least he had enough lifejackets aboard for his wife and three kids,” said Freda That was a good day for Coast Guard safety inspectors. Coast Guardsman Jay Douglas advised me that of the 365 vessels inspections the Muskegon boats crews have conducted this season on recreational boats, they have sent back to the docks 65 boats because they lacked enough life jackets, carried defunct fire extinguishers or lacked improper navigation lights . But then who should care in the land of Oz boating? Jay Douglas certainly does. When he inspected an 11-foot ‘John Boat’ in May with seven people aboard- two adults and five children including an infant- to find only two life jackets, he coiled. The two adults together packed over four-hundred pounds; add the weight of the five children and together it far exceeded the weight capacity of the tiny boat. “Scary? You bet. And they had been on Lake Michigan for over four hours with water temperatures in the mid forties,” said Douglas. Here’s yet another Oz land boating story. Coast Guard boarding officer Emily Roulbal of Motor Lifeboat Station, Two Rivers, Wisconsin, told me she and her boat crew recently inspected an 18-foot power boat at a local Two Rivers’ marina. The boat had just come off Lake Michigan. During the inspection she discovered no flares, no sound producing device, and no boat registration aboard. Lack of flares could draw a hefty fine. Acting in the spirit of the law, Roulbal provided the operator a chance to correct the infractions on the spot, if he purchased the items at a nearby marine supply store, which he did. She then issued him a written warning for failure to carry a current boating registration certificate. It was a win-win situation for all, until…. A short time later Roulbal encountered the clerk who sold the boater the items and discovered he had returned them. She detailed the scam in a supplement to the original boarding report and sent if off to Coast Guard officials responsible for levying fines. Needless to say someone was in for a nasty surprise. But what greater surprise would there be than for this Oz-land boater to reach for his flares during an emergency only to find a return sale slip. But then life-threatening emergencies don’t occur in Oz-land boating. Oh, how pretty to think so! During the 2004 boating season I’m aware of 18 boating fatalities and the sad thing about them- nearly all could have been prevented. Whether these needless deaths are the result of the Wicked Witches’ brew or the brew of ignorance- a sure way to break either spell is to- boat smart. Group
Grand Haven | USCG
Office of Boating Safety
|
