Vessel Safety Checks Also Allow for Educational Outreach

by Jonathan Weaver

During the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary’s Mass Vessel Examination or “Vessel Safety Checks” at Crooked Creek Lake Park in Manor Township Saturday, officials from various local and regional agencies were able to distribute safety and educational information to boaters.

From 10AM-2PM, the Auxiliary’s Vessel Safety Check program helped boaters achieve voluntary compliance with federal and state recreational boating safety laws, particularly regarding the carriage of safety equipment and raised boater’s awareness of safety issues through one-on-one contact by volunteer vessel examiners.

Auxiliary Member David Lynch, of North Apollo, explained the idea for the vessel safety checks came after Armstrong County Water Rescue Task Force Team 340 – made up of Vandergrift, Markle and Freeport volunteer fire departments and Lower Kiski EMS – invited the auxiliary to come to their water and safety event the same day.

He said some of the water rescue task force’s equipment was on display – including boats used during rescue – and boating and water safety information was given out by Coast Guard auxiliary members, the PA Fish and Boat Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the safety checks.

Lynch, a full-time Lower Kiski Ambulance EMT and part of the Water Rescue Task Force, was one of the four task force members who decided to join the auxiliary a year ago to expand their training and knowledge.

“We’ve gotten pretty involved with things in the auxiliary – which we really enjoy – and the training has been a benefit to the water rescue task force as well,” Lynch said.

The four newest volunteers belong to Flotilla 7-3 in Butler County and also assist with events along Lake Arthur.

Water Rescue Task Force Chief Tom Schaeffer – also one of the new auxiliary members and Vandergrift #1 Fire Chief since 1989 –

Schaeffer, of Vandergrift Borough, said Vandergrift fire volunteers have seen a “tremendous” increase to recreational use of the Kiskiminetas River.

“That’s why we got more heavily-involved in water rescue – there was a need for it,” Schaeffer said.

Despite the rain and regional flooding, Team 340 has only responded to a handful of emergency calls so far this summer. The most recent calls included empty canoes floating along the river, but they were only found to be loose from their docks and nobody was injured.

Also a PA Boat and Fish instructor, Schaeffer said some of his training takes place at Crooked Creek Lake.

“Crooked Creek’s really been great to us to hold back water for a week and then increase the flow for swift water training on the opposite side of the dam,” Schaeffer said.

Despite the safety checks, the boat launch remained closed Saturday morning because of the high water elevation.

Vessel Safety Checks or VSCs are generally performed on recreational boats under 65 feet long. Vessel Safety Check requirements parallel federal and individual state regulations regarding equipment and safety conditions of the vessel.

Safety checks usually take 15-30 minutes depending on the size of the vessel.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the civilian volunteer component of the United States Coast Guard, and there are about 33,000 members nationwide.

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