Plot Your Course to Put-in-Bay with Safety
Points of the compass are essential factors in safely navigating to Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie, whether you are riding a commercial ferry or piloting your own boat’s course. However, navigation skills are not everyone’s strength. For example, how often have you wished someone told you to turn left or right instead of east or west? On the other hand, you might be a frustrated skipper who expects passengers to comprehend “starboard” and “port” when a dockmaster calls out instructions.
Commercial captains of inspected vessels in U.S. waters must have a USCG tonnage license renewed every five years. Charter captains must have an OUPV license, known as a “six-pack,” to take up to six paying passengers and crew out on the water. Private boaters in Ohio, born on or after January 1, 1982, must successfully complete either a boating course or a proficiency exam in order to operate a boat powered by more than 10 horsepower.
The maritime “rules of the road” are legally binding and application of them makes the waterways safer for everyone. To facilitate accurate and safe navigation, the United States Coast Guard/Department of Homeland Security provides numerous on-line sources which enhance mariners’ confidence and skills.
Among the most important items are Light Lists (lights, sound signals, buoys, daybeacons, and other aids to navigation) and Local Notice to Mariners (the primary means for disseminating information concerning aids to navigation, hazards to navigation, and other items of marine information of interest to mariners on the waters of the United States).
Of critical importance for boating safety is the use of a VHF radio. Marine VHF Radios are two-way communicators that transfer and receive messages to and from the responding station. These very high frequency radios are available as handheld and permanent units.
The Coast Guard monitors channel 16 ’round the clock for emergency and distress calls. If you establish contact with the USCG on Channel 9 or 16, they may ask you to switch to Channel 22A. You may also hear an announcement on Channel 16 to switch to Channel 22A for important information. Reliance on a cellular signal is not advised, especially around the Bass Islands of Lake Erie where a Canadian cell tower may be what your phone picks up.
Recreational boating on Lake Erie became an organized sport in 1878, according to a Case Western University study, and “Sport fishing in the central basin of Lake Erie dramatically improved from its bleak days of the 1950s, when many had proclaimed the lake ‘dead'” due to environmental pollution.
Contemporary boaters fill Lake Erie, and they visit Put-in-Bay in great numbers. Cargo ships, tugs and barges, ferries, sightseeing vessels, and pleasure boaters (including kayaks and jet skis) all deserve a safe and friendly seagoing environment.
It remains most important that all who navigate these waters do so with respect and safety foremost in their minds. And please remember, the United States Coast Guard is here to serve you!
For USCG information on Lake Erie, visit the 9th Coast Guard District.
