Safety at Sea News

The mission of BoatWatch.org is to maintain a worldwide network of resources to aid mariners that are missing or overdue; have a boat stolen; or to whom urgent messages need to be relayed.

Safety at Sea News

Dinghy Security, Lock It Or Lose It!

Dinghy Security, Lock It Or Lose It!

  Previously published in the Caribbean Compass October 2017 and recently in the Facebook group Caribbean Navigator by Ken GoodingsMost everyone in the Caribbean cruising community knows someone who has suffered the theft of a dinghy and outboard motor. Even when you’re insured against such loss,...

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USCG New Regulation re Kill Switches for Boats less than 26 feet

USCG New Regulation re Kill Switches for Boats less than 26 feet

WASHINGTON -- Operators of recreational vessels less than 26 feet in length will be required to use an engine cut-off switch (ECOS) and associated ECOS link (ECOSL) as of April 1, 2021, as the U.S. Coast Guard implements a law passed by Congress. The ECOS and ECOSL prevent runaway vessels and the...

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USCG Rescues Sailor in Sinking SV 120 NM East of Palm Coast, Florida

USCG Rescues Sailor in Sinking SV 120 NM East of Palm Coast, Florida

UPDATE: March 23, 2021 From the Rescued Sailor In his own words: "thank you USCG & Garmin - for saving my life ++ Respect +++" UPDATE From the USCG March 7, 2021 - 1:00 pm JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew rescued a 65-year-old man,...

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Do I Really Need An HF SSB Radio?

Do I Really Need An HF SSB Radio?

By Steven Bowden, former owner of SeaTech Systems.  Every day in my former business I answered the same question: Do I really need a High Frequency (HF) Single Sideband (SSB) radio for long range cruising?  Why not just use a satellite phone or satellite hotspot?  Why do most long range cruisers...

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Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) Satellite AIS Tracking Service

Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) Satellite AIS Tracking Service

The Seven Seas Cruising Association (SSCA) HF Radio Service Net, FCC Call Sign KPK, is pleased to announce a new service. We have always taken Float Plans of vessels making offshore passages, and tracked them using the HF Radio and/or a satellite GPS tracker such as a Garmin In Reach or Iridium...

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SV My Time Overdue On Passage From New Orleans, LA to Tampa, FL

SV My Time Overdue On Passage From New Orleans, LA to Tampa, FL

UPDATE: January 31,2021 - USCG RCC New Orleans, LA advised this morning the SV MY TIME was located off of Mobile, AL and safely towed into Mobile by a commercial towing company. The SV MY TIME had a collision with a commercial fishing vessel, and got their prop fouled in nets, and were unable to...

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Eight Boaters Rescued In Key West From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Eight Boaters Rescued In Key West From Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

U.S. Coast Guard reminds mariners of hidden boating dangers MIAMI --The Coast Guard reminds mariners to exercise caution and safe boating practices while boating with cooler temperatures on the water, as there could be hidden dangers aboard a vessel. Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders...

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Sailor Andrew Baillie rescued by Cable Ship “Dependable” 400 miles off Mexico

UK Citizen Rescued From SV by USCG San Juan and Two Ships

The cutter Joseph Napier is a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in San Juan, Puerto Rico. SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Joseph Napier combined efforts with the CSCL Long Beach and the LNG tanker Gemmata to rescue a man from a disabled sailing vessel in the Caribbean Sea...

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