Florida

Operation: Life Jacket for Life Tour 2010
This operation will be a joint effort between the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the Coast Guard (USCG) and local partners to include the CG Auxiliary, USPS, Maritime Enforcement agencies, and vendors. The operation will be a tour of participating marine units down the ICW, highlighting the importance of life jacket wear and safety equipment aboard a recreational vessel and run concurrently with National Safe Boating Week. The Starting date is scheduled for Sunday, May 23 and ending Friday May 28. The Kick Off is planned for Sister's Creek, North Side Boat Ramp, ICW Jacksonville. Nightly stops are planned for Daytona ,Titusville, Ft. Pierce , West Palm , Pompano Beach and ending at Watson Island in Miami. A lead vessel, the WEAR IT FLORIDA Campaign FWC jet boat will head the group of additional vessels such as police, fire, CG, CG Auxiliary, USPS, etc. Public event stops will include boating safety equipment give-a-ways, and media stops will consist of a brief description of this tour. The CGD7 BAT-PAK trailer will accompany the tour. The main thrust for Auxiliary participants will be to help publicize the tour with local media, distribute fliers throughout the RBSPV contacts, plan for VSC at the stops, and participate with facilities on the tour. This message is just an alert message, meant to acquaint you with the tour so that you can plan to participate with your flotillas. If Auxiliarists have questions, I am the person to contact. I will direct them to the appropriate officers in CCGD7 and FWC. I hope you and your units can get behind this effort, we hope to promote boating safety to the utmost during the tour.

An outstanding recreational boating safety training aid


By Bruce Wright, RBS Specialist District 7 Stacey Wright, 070 06 11 Bill Griswold, 070 04 03

In 2005, Bruce and Stacey Wright conceived the BAT-PAK, and within two years, the dream came true. Funded in part by the Office of Boating Safety, CG Headquarters, the 24’ Wells Cargo trailer took shape. Two large doors reveal the boating safety display, put together by Bruce and Stacey, building it by hand and adding smart graphics explaining various pieces of equipment and their capabilities.

Initially, the display included a hydraulically operated boat simulator requiring a lanyard attached to a life jacket to operate and a TV screen to give realistic on water “feeling”. Unfortunately, the hydraulic system proved to be a high maintenance item and that display was retired. BAT-PAK also has a built in bunk room so it can be set up at remote parks without nearby lodging. An on board generator keeps the display humming, and powers computers, cell phones, etc.

The trailer weighs in at 10,000 pounds and is pulled by a GSA leased Ford Dually Crew Cab truck. Wrapped graphics which prominently display the Wear It logo, plus other messages such as Boat Responsibly and America’s Waterway Watch cover the trailer. The Wrights form the 2 person crew and wear Tournament Shirts, resembling NASCAR drivers, matching white pants and tennis shoes. The display logs about 100 days a year on the road, carrying the boating safety message to a wide variety of events throughout the Seventh CG District. It is designed to fit in a C-130 cargo bay in case funds are available to take it to the islands of the Seventh.

Some of the events have included Boat Shows in Atlanta, Tampa, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Savannah and Charleston, SC. The BAT-PAK is on the road during National Safe Boating Week, the July 4 holiday, career days, seafood festivals, antique boat shows, sporting events and at retail outlets featuring boating equipment, such as West Marine stores and Bass Pro shops. The thrust of the display is to attend events local flotillas are engaged in, supporting them while reaching out to the public.

Annually the display is refined to represent the latest in safety concerns. Most recent are displays on dive safety, paddle sport, flare safety and an interactive Digital Selective Calling Panel Display to help boaters to gain a better understanding of DSC. In addition to adding this to the BAT-PAK, Bruce has arranged to send a similar display to each District Sector.

Currently, the display features: Flare Display and interactive panel CO and Propeller Danger Display – with a mock up transom, exhaust, prop Various Inflatable Life Jackets are displayed, one has one half inflated, the other half stowed EPRIBS & PLB’s, with descriptions of their capabilities Strobe lights and Fire Extinguishers The two person BAT-PAK crew can be augmented by local volunteers who have current knowledge of State and Federal Boating Laws and regulations.

Replacing the boat simulator is Sammy’s Den, an interactive Kids Center located in the aft part of the trailer. Sammy the Sea Otter lives here, he is an interactive remote controlled Robot Character that can speak to children, adults, and converse with them. In addition, there is a full size Sammy the Sea Otter costume on board. Sammy’s Den also features a Flat Panel 52” monitor for using DVD and interactive gaming consoles. Navigation related Wii games provides kids opportunities to understand navigation buoys and life jacket wear. Other Sammy activities include coloring books featuring water safety and soap boat building to understand buoyancy.

The diving display features Oscar the Dive Mannequin displaying all the latest in dive safety gear, and of course Jack, the 8 foot inflatable life jacket. An external sound system helps at boat show presentations.

The BAT-PAK has been featured in conjunction with Florida Fish and Wildlife’s Life Jacket for Life Tour and has logged an average of 17,000 miles annually over the last 4 years. 900,000 people experienced a Venue Impact Awareness (persons who view the various safety messages) by seeing the display last year, over 2.5 million over the last 4 years. A new coloring book will be launched, designed from entries to a contest for school children throughout the District during a Safe Boating Week/BAT-PAK initiative.

Bruce and Stacey Wright have contributed countless hours and weekends taking this marvelous display around the District. Visitors, young and old learn so much by looking at the displays and talking to the crew. This has been a terrific asset to the boating safety message, and could be copied in your area. If you ever get the chance to see this BAT-PAK, don’t pass it up.

Resources

 * U.S. Coast Guard District
 * U.S. Coast Guard Sector
 * U.S. Coast Guard Sector
 * U.S. Coast Guard Sector
 * U.S. Coast Guard Sector
 * Local Notice to Mariners
 * Local Notice to Mariners
 * U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary District
 * State Boating Agency
 * State Boating Course
 * State Boating Laws from NASBLA
 * State Education Requirements from BoatUS Foundation
 * Boating Courseline from BoatUS Foundation
 * Marine forecasts from the National Weather Service
 * Online navigation charts from NOAA and Google
 * Sea Scout Ships (units) from Sea Scouts BSA