Public Affairs Detachment New York
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: Dec. 14, 2009 
Public Affairs
(212) 668-7114

News Release

Coast Guard holiday survival gift recommendations

NEW YORK — Instead of four calling birds, three French hens and two turtledoves, why not get your loved one a gift that keeps on giving: safety equipment for their boat this year?

The Coast Guard highly recommends that all mariners carry all required survival equipment for their boats and that people who enjoy the maritime environment from the shoreline wear lifejackets regardless of the season.

“Things can and do go wrong on the water and wearing a life jacket is the first step to surviving sudden immersion,” said Al Johnson, the recreational boating specialist for the Northeast’s First Coast Guard District. “There’s a wide variety of life jackets that serve the demands of every on-water activity. Whether the gift recipient is an off-shore sailor or in-shore boater, coastal kayaker or inland canoeist, there’s a comfortable, easy to wear life jacket that will meet his or her comfort needs.”

Johnson stresses that a life jacket isn’t guaranteed to save your life but it is guaranteed to greatly improve your chance for survival if you capsize or fall overboard. The other gifts Johnson suggests are a submersible, hand-held VHF marine radio, a personal locator beacon or a global positioning system.

“The Coast Guard monitors channel 16 and it’s the primary means of communicating on coastal waters,” said Johnson. “Due to poor off-shore cell coverage and service patterns, boaters and paddlers should consider their cell phones a secondary means of communicating.”

Mariners should plan for and expect to encounter unpredictable weather that occurs here, such as the Nor’easters which tend to ravage the coast during the winter, or the rip currents that are frequent during the summer. Taking the time now during the cold winter months to plan ahead and prepare for the coming boating season and summer months can help make your next ocean visit or boat outing enjoyable and safe.

In total, the Coast Guard’s top nautical gifts ideas are:

• A Marine GPS navigation system
• A 406 Mhz EPIRB (Make sure you register it after purchase, or rescuers may be delayed in reaching you!)
• A Coast Guard-approved life jacket (because they float, you don’t…)
• A handheld VHF marine radio
• A Boating Safety Course (boater education saves lives — it’s a fact)
• Vessel Safety Check (VSC) from the Coast Guard Auxiliary (it’s free!)
• A Coast Guard approved fire extinguisher
• A first aid kit in a watertight container
• A seamanship book
• Nautical charts for the areas your favorite mariner frequents
• Clothing that is warm and water resistant and appropriate
• Life raft with a survival kit

Some stocking stuffer ideas include:

• A signal kit (including a whistle, mirror, day/night flares)
• A Float Plan template

Some of the most valuable gifts don’t cost anything but time such as scheduling a free vessel safety check with your local Coast Guard Auxiliary. For more information on scheduling a free vessel safety check, visit www.safetyseal.net.

To find a boating safety course in your area visit http://www.aboutboatingsafely.com/.

No partridge in a pear tree necessary!

From the Coast Guard family to yours, Happy Holidays!

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