Voice of the people: Safety law needed for offshore boating

The Ledger
·3 min read
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Any boater that goes more than nine miles offshore, which is mostly out of cell phone range, should be required by law to have a registered EPIRB on board.
Any boater that goes more than nine miles offshore, which is mostly out of cell phone range, should be required by law to have a registered EPIRB on board.

Safety law needed for offshore boating

I recently read about a boating rescue off the coast of Louisiana ["Men survive shark attack, rescued in Gulf," Oct. 12]. A 24-foot boat sank 25 miles off the coast of Louisiana with three people on board. A family member reported them overdue that evening.

Several U.S. Coast Guard air and boat crews searched an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island. They boaters were found after spending 24 hours in the water with sharks around them. They were lucky to be alive.

I assume that they did not have onboard an Emergency Position Radio Beacon that sends an emergency signal to satellites giving their exact GPS position. If they had, they would have been rescued within a few hours and saved a lot of money on searching the area.

An EPIRB costs about $500, and there are no service fees. Anyone that can afford an offshore boat can afford an EPIRB.

I feel that any boater that goes more than nine miles offshore, which is mostly out of cell phone range, should be required by law to have a registered EPIRB on board.

I have a VHF marine radio, an EPIRB, a satellite private emergency position locator (with a service fee) and a satellite phone on my 22-foot boat that I go 30 miles offshore in.

Terry Parker, Lakeland

Our country's security needs leadership

American taxpayers are you reading, listening and watching the news? On Aug. 21, The Ledger printed Jamie Groh's article "Nasa's Big Gamble"- Is America's mega moon rocket worth the mega price tag?

Fifty-three years ago, America's political leadership had a vision of putting two men on the moon within a decade. Apollo 11 with the lunar module did just that on July 20, 1969. Currently, aerospace workers are back working, supporting the space station and securing America's continued space exploration.

Twenty-one years ago, America's national security suffered a premeditated terrorist attack that commandeered four inflight American aircraft with two crashing into New York City's Twin Towers. Remembering the 9/11 terrorist attacks on America you realize how easy the terrorists accomplished these attacks. Never forget Sept. 11, 2001.

Consider where our government's protection/security is today and vote in November. United Americans need to recognize and understand that real threats like 9/11 still exist. Our country's security needs leadership that controls and balances our federal budget, understands and secures our national borders from incoming terrorists, protects our seas, air and space, recognizes our socialist enemies within, while defending and protecting our century's old constitutional republic and its future.

Walt Back, Lakeland

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This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Voice of the people: Safety law needed for offshore boating