Fishing News - 5/18/01
Coast Guard helps sportsmen choose safer charters.
KODIAK, Alaska - Six Californians were enjoying a day of halibut fishing in Cook Inlet, 100 miles south of Anchorage, when the charter boat they were on sank July 7, 1999. The flooding shorted out the boats electronics, cutting off communications. One of the passengers called for help on his cell phone just before they got into a leaky inflatable raft.
The passengers and a deckhand spent almost an hour balancing the small raft in the frigid Alaskan water to keep it from capsizing, while the captain hung onto the bow of his sinking boat. The Coast Guard rescued all eight people with no injuries. The two key items that helped them stay alive and get rescued - the raft and cell phone - are not required for uninspected passenger vessels called six-packs. In fact six packs are not inspected and the only safety equipment they are required to carry is the same as a personal boat.
The Coast Guard in Alaska just made it easier for sportsmen to choose safer charter services from the more than 2,000 charter boats that work here. The 17th Coast Guard District's Alaska Uninspected Passenger Vessel Voluntary Five Star Safety Program, or Star Safety Program, provides charter patrons the ability to see the level of safety equipment on board a participating vessel just by looking at sticker on the hull.
The Star Safety Program is a voluntary program that assigns a one- to five-star rating based on the level of safety equipment on board the vessel. The owner is able to use the star rating in advertising and is presented with a highly visible sticker to place on their boat. The star rating lets the charter passengers know how much safety equipment is on the boat so consumers decide what level of safety is right for them. The Star Safety Program is designed to let a person who knows little about boats to be able to make an informed decision about the level of safety that appeals to them while still allowing the owner flexibility in operations.
