Filed at December 30, 2009 under On the Water and Boating by Keys
Among the handful of new laws that will begin to be enforced on New Year’s Day, will be a handful that specifically impacts boaters across the state. The new laws will apply not only to boaters, but also to those of you who enjoy a nice ride on a personal water craft.
One new law that will impact everyone will be new licensing requirements to operate a sea craft. Anyone who wants to operate a boat or personal water craft has to be older than 22 years old. To get a permit, a person must take a course approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Association or take a “How to Boat Smart” correspondence course.
Once a class has been completed, you must submit a letter with your name, date of birth, return address, phone number, and proof of completion of the course to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Out of state visitors who don’t have a card issued by their home state will be allowed to take a temporary certificate test.
In addition, the penalty for boating under the influence has been enhanced to match the penalty for driving under the influence. The blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol level was also lowered from 0.20 to 0.15.
Click here for more information on the new licensing requirements from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
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Filed at May 21, 2009 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Middle Keys and Key Colony Beach and Florida Keys and Middle Keys and Marathon by Keys
Here is a story as printed in a local paper, with my remarks added in red.
A woman and her 2-year-old daughter were found trying to swim miles to shore in the Florida Keys after spending the night on a boat that had run out of gas, Why would you ever leave a floating boat when you are miles at sea? Who puts their 2 year old in that kind of danger? Sounds more like a suicide attempt then an attempt at survival. according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Kerry Harrison and her toddler, both wearing life jackets, were picked up Wednesday afternoon by a boater and taken to Caloosa Cove on Lower Matecumbe Key.
Their ordeal began about 8 p.m. Tuesday, when they left a friend’s house on Key Colony Beach for the five-mile trip to their home in Marathon. But they never arrived. At 11 a.m. Wednesday, a worried friend called the Coast Guard and a search began with the assistance of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. The mother and daughter were found by the private boat at 1:30 p.m. The boat ran out of gas shortly after leaving Key Colony Beach. This boat must have had no gas. Harrison did not have a radio or cellphone. There are still people without cell phones?
Through the night, the boat drifted about 20 miles to the northeast, There wasn’t an anchor on board? All that water is less then 30′ deep, most less that 10′. ending up near Tennessee Reef Light off Lower Matecumbe Key in Islamorada. Sometime in the morning, the pair began the swim to shore, about four miles away.
”I’m extremely grateful they were located alive,” said Jim Olive, acting commander of Coast Guard Sector Key West. But he said in a statement the pair should have stayed with their boat. Duh!
There has got to be more to this story. Had she ever been in a boat before? Who let her take a boat with no gas? No radio? No signaling device?
Hopefully someone else will get custody of the child until her mom can get help.
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Filed at May 10, 2009 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Middle Keys and Marathon by Keys
A new boat ramp and marina bath house in the City of Marathon were officially opened to the public on Thursday.
It was a busy day for dedication ceremonies, as officials first opened the newly repaired 33rd Street boat ramp on Thursday morning. With the ramp back on line, the city now has three such public facilities within its borders. City officials hope the ramp will alleviate some of the stress from traffic on the Dodge Lake boat ramp, which is located in a residential neighborhood.
“This is another great benefit for the citizens and visitors of Marathon” said City Manager Clyde Burnett. The city’s third public boat ramp is located near The Island restaurant, north of Vaca Cut. [On the Gulf Side] All three public ramps have been fully repaired within the last three years.
The ramp at 33rd Street now features a 40 foot wide, pre-stressed launch, to replace the old 20 foot wide boat ramp. The parking lot was also repaved and the seawall was repaired. The parking lot and bathroom facility now comply with Americans With Disabilities Act requirements.
An hour later, officials headed across the highway to dedicate another convenience for boaters, a new 1,843 square foot bath and laundry building at the City Marina. The new bath house replaces facilities previously located in the main marina building. The bath house features card keys that allow boaters living in the harbor or on the seawall at the marina to gain access and pay for the laundry machines in the building.
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Filed at January 16, 2009 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
Jan. 19-23, 2009: with nearly 300 racing yachts competing in this international regatta
(visit www.premiere-racing.com)
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Filed at January 14, 2008 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
International fleet competes for world, More than 260 sailboats and sailing crews from around the world are to compete in the waters off Key West during Acura Key West 2008, one of the most prestigious sailing regattas on the international calendar.
The racing challenge is scheduled Jan. 21 to 25.
In its 21st year, Acura Key West 2008, presented by Nautica, is to feature national and international greats from the yachting world. Sailors are expected to hail from at least 20 countries and more than 30 American states.
“We’re pleased to be seeing a really great fleet come together,” event organizer Peter Craig said. “From custom IRC programs and established one-design classes to [Performance Handicap Racing Fleet National Championship] boats seeking the 2008 national championship, it’s going to be an exciting week.” According to regatta organizers, Acura Key West’s primary attractions for race teams include the high level of competition and the opportunity for January sailing in warm subtropical waters.
Competitors are to race on four courses set over a 10-mile stretch of the Atlantic Ocean just off Key West’s shore and inside North America’s only living coral barrier reef, which parallels the Florida Keys. The racing action is slated to begin at 10:30 a.m. daily. Read more »
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Filed at January 9, 2008 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Middle Keys and Marathon by Keys
It was tied up in governmental red tape for some time, but it appears the city of Marathon has gotten the go-ahead to begin refurbishing its 33rd Street boat ramp. The ramp has been in disrepair and Deputy City Manager C.J. Geotis said miscommunications between the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the city held the project up.
“Once we took care of that, FEMA was great. They did a great job looking into this and [allowing] me to go ahead and start the project,” Geotis said. FEMA allocated $869,088 toward the ramp’s repair, which Geotis said would cost a total of $905,000. “FEMA is going to be paying for almost the entire project; before, we had half of that and were able to get the balance,” he said.
Geotis said the city is finalizing a contract with Coral Marine Construction, which was the lowest original bidder on the project. The city will replace the current ramp with a double pre-stressed one, remodel the bathroom facilities, place a wooden deck to the left of the ramp and repair the seawall around the ramp. City Manager Mike Puto said the city might contract with an owner of a private ramp to provide public access while the 33rd Street ramp is closed. The city had planned to complete the project prior to season.
Meanwhile, $180,000 in mitigation money from Marlin Bay Yacht Club development earmarked for 33rd Street can now be used to fund repairs at the ramp adjacent to the former Quay property near mile marker 54 bayside. The money must be used toward public water-access projects. “The [state Department of Transportation] is moving ahead with retiring that piece of property to us and we have a commitment from them for $90,000 toward the repair,” Geotis said.
Monroe County had pledged $375,000 over three years toward Quay boat-ramp repairs. Geotis said those funds are still available to the city but will be used for other purposes.
More Florida Keys Boat Ramps.
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Filed at January 7, 2008 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Upper Keys and Tavernier by Keys
[Editor's Note: I considered showing one of many funny JetSki crash images, but this problem is NOT funny]
A Broward County girl, 16, was recovering from a severe eye injury this week after her personal watercraft ran into mangroves Dec. 29 in Tavernier. Amber Griffin was flown to mainland medical facilities after a mangrove branch impaled her in the eye socket, according to a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report.
A passenger on the borrowed Yamaha Waverunner, Jenna Pompa, 17, was treated and released from Mariners Hospital. Pompa reportedly suffered scrapes and bruises. Griffin was operating the watercraft on the bayside of Tavernier Creek around 2 p.m. Dec. 29, said Bobby Dube, FWC information officer.
The Waverunner reportedly was traveling about 25 mph when it swerved to avoid an anchored boat in a shallow channel off the creek. The boat crashed into the mangroves, when the branch hit Griffin in the eye. Her injuries were described as serious but not life-threatening. Warnings were issued for careless operation, and for a minor operating a vessel without proof of boater education.
2006 REPORTABLE PERSONAL WATERCRAFT ACCIDENTS
• Personal watercraft (PWC) account for 11% of all registered vessels in Florida
(98% privately owned, 2% rentals).
• PWC were involved in 26% of reported boating accidents (174).
• Rental PWCs were involved in 2% of all PWC accidents in 2006.
• The majority of PWC accidents involved a collision with another vessel.
• 37% of PWC accidents were caused by careless/inattention operation.
• 42% of PWC operators involved in an accident were between 22-35 years of age. 26% were 36-50 years of age.
• 16% of total boating fatality victims were on a PWC.
• Over 42% of PWC accidents occurred in Palm Beach, Pinellas, Monroe and Miami-Dade Counties, with Palm Beach ranked number #1 (with 20 accidents)
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Filed at December 30, 2007 under On the Water and Boating and Florida Keys and Lower Keys and Key West by Keys
By Capt. Tom Serio
Because government officials and others involved with the recovery of S/Y Legacy have not been forthcoming with her progress, I flew over Legacy in late November to find out her status. She is still in the marine sanctuary just north of Key West, where she was deposited by Hurricane Wilma two years ago, a few dozen yards from Bluefish Channel. The latest recovery process of pulling her out the way she went in has freed her from the bottom and continues. Originally speculated in early September to take three weeks, pulling Legacy to deep water has so far taken three months, with probably several more to go.
This current recovery process (others have been tried but failed) includes creating a channel in front of Legacy by removing the sandy bottom using an auger and pump. The sand is then relocated aft as the yacht moves forward. A series of cables connected to her hull run along the initial path of entry cut in the sea grass (almost a mile long), out to a utility boat, the Helen B. Legacy is pulled several feet at a time by the utility vessel. Miami-based Byrd Commercial Diving is the marine salvage contractor on site. The flotilla of houseboats rafted nearby allows Legacy’s owner and crew to remain close by and keep watch over the recovery.
So instead of official reports on what is happening, we have photos, which indeed speak a thousand words. [To see more, visit http://www.the-triton.com.] Although Legacy appeared to have moved about 1,200 feet by late November, there appears to be at least that much farther still to go. As she inches closer to the edge of the flats, hopefully the water will get deeper and aid in her refloating.
The sand deposits pumped from in front of Legacy appear to be well scattered in the area aft, appearing to create a sandy island. With the concerns of the impact on the local ecosystem, this process appears to be disturbing a large area. Due to sustained wind and/or current conditions, there is a large sand plume leaching out of the yellow containment boom. It was good to see Legacy headed toward freedom, but there will be many questions as to the process and long-term effect on the area. Let’s hope the marine sanctuary as well as Legacy will one day be restored to pre-Wilma condition.
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Filed at December 9, 2007 under On the Water and Boating and On the Water and Diving and On the Water and Fishing and Florida Keys and Vacations by Keys
With scores of recreational activities that cater to women, the Keys are a perfect destination for women-only getaways or solo adventures. Each area in the island chain that stretches from Key Largo to Key West offers its own one-of-a-kind attractions. And while the Keys have a Caribbean appeal, they’re actually all American — no passport is required and English is the native tongue. A selection of girls’ getaway activities is listed here, but in reality the possibilities are as diverse and intriguing as the island chain itself. Underwater Stress Relief Just beneath the tip of mainland Florida lies Key Largo, the northernmost of the Florida Keys. There, women seeking renewal beneath the sea can plunge 25 feet to discover the statue of Christ of the Abyss at Key Largo Dry Rocks. This nine-foot-tall bronze statute rises so close to the surface that it can be seen by snorkelers as well as divers.
Key Largo is known as the scuba diving capital of the world, but it also offers a way to experience North America’s only living coral reef without getting wet. Sail aboard the Key Largo Princess, a 70-foot, glass-bottom, 129-passenger yacht to view the exciting underwater world of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the only undersea park in the United States. The Key Largo Princess is located at the Holiday Inn Docks off U.S. Highway 1 at mile marker (MM) 100.
Islamorada, just down U.S. 1 from Key Largo, offers a wide variety of fine restaurants and day spas for sybaritic pampering. For women seeking an all-over tan, the tanning bed can be the large forward couch on Two Chicks Charters’ 26-foot Leisure Cat. The smooth-riding boat accommodates up to six people for an eco-tour to experience the natural beauty of the mangrove islands, an underwater treasure hunt, or a sunset on Florida Bay. Catch the boat at Worldwide Sportsman Bayside Marina, MM 81.5 in Islamorada. Read more »
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