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Vessel Safety Checks
 
  

VSC SCHEDULE                 VESSEL EXAMINERS

The Vessel Safety Check Program (VSC) has been a mission cornerstone of the Coast Guard Auxiliary since 1947.  It reflects the Auxiliary’s central concern of promoting boating safety through checking recreational boats for required safety equipment, helping boaters spot potential safety hazards and informing them of the importance of equipping their boats with at least the minimum basic safety equipment. Vessel Safety Checks are free and performed only at the request of the owner.  Auxiliarists who conduct the vessel checks are volunteers, trained and certified by the Coast Guard.

Examiners perform VSC on Carter Creek; AUX 33901 safety patrol passes in background

To pass a VSC a boat must comply with all Federal and State safety requirements.  Since the function of the Auxiliary is to promote safety and encourage voluntary compliance no report of failure is ever filed with any law enforcement agency.  Vessel owners are told what is needed to correct deficiencies and the VSC officer will return at the owner’s convenience to complete the VSC if corrections are necessary.  This is a great opportunity for recreational boaters to learn about and correct (without penalty) deficiencies which, if caught later by the Coast Guard or other law enforcement agency, might result in fines.

When a vessel passes the VSC a special safety decal is awarded.  The decal does not convey special privileges, but displaying it shows the Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies that the boater is interested in boating safety and that at the time of the VSC the vessel met all Federal and State safety requirements.  For more information contact Howard Montgomery, Staff Officer for Vessel Safety Checks.

THE FLOTILLA 33 SCHEDULE FOR VESSEL SAFETY CHECKS

The schedule of flotilla on-site Vessel Safety Checks at local marinas and boat ramps for the 2007 boating season includes:

19 May 2007 Yankee Point Marina

26 May 2007 Whelens Marina

Boaters who miss the organized events will still have opportunities to avail themselves of these free inspection services.  Some of our qualified vessel examiners will be 'free-lancing' at local marinas throughout the Summer -- just watch for an Auxiliarist in uniform where you berth or launch your boat.  And it is often quite possible to arrange an individual vessel safety check at a mutually convenient place and time -- even at a home pier.  Contact a Flotilla 33 Vessel Examiner.

FLOTILLA 33 VESSEL EXAMINERS

Staff Officer	Area	Phone
Howard Montgomery	Kilmarnock	435-6257
Charles Bernhardt	White Stone	435-2108
Jack Blaine	Lancaster	462-9931
Frans Kasteel	Millenbeck	462-5458
Rita Theisen	Lancaster	462-9931
Jim Thomas	Lancaster	435-3159
Ted Tulis	White Stone	435-3877
Larry Uhlfelder	Ophelia	453-5012
Jim Wroth	White Stone	435-0376

The Vessel Examiners have absolutely NO Law Enforcement authority. Their job is to help the boater have a safe voyage. In fact, if the Vessel Examiner finds some deficiencies in the equipment that would result in a citation being issued by Coast Guard law enforcement personnel, the Vessel Examiner may not, and does not, inform the Coast Guard about it.