U.S. Coast
Guard Honors
BoatUS Emergency Beacon Rental Program
With eleven persons successfully rescued since May 2003, the
United States Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue recently honored
BoatUS for its Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB)
rental program. The program makes the $900 life-saving devices available
at cost for $50 a week as a public service of the boating association’s
Foundation for Boating Safety & Clean Water. A BoatUS EPIRB recently
aided in the rescue of three persons 120 miles off Cape Hatteras, NC.
Capt. Steve
Sawyer, Chief, USCG Office of Search and Rescue, said, “We’d
like to express our grateful appreciation to BoatUS for its dedicated
efforts in improving the safety and welfare of recreational boaters
throughout the world. The Coast Guard Search and Rescue Program, in
close coordination with the Boating Safety Program and the Coast Guard
Auxiliary, continuously seeks improved methods to avert search and rescue
cases through education and prevention – the BoatUS EPIRB Rental
Program is one initiative that directly supports this goal.”
The BoatUS
EPIRB program is funded by the voluntary contributions of 575,000 members
of BoatUS Ruth Wood, president of the BoatUS Foundation, said, “When
we started the pilot program six years ago with the U.S. Coast Guard,
we knew of no other way for boaters to temporarily obtain an EPIRB for
a short offshore passage. Since then, the program has rented hundreds
of beacons through the generous support of BoatUS members who believe
in the usefulness of these life saving devices.”
For more
information about renting an EPIRB, call the BoatUS Foundation at
888-663-7472 or visit http://www.BoatUS.com/foundation/epirb.
Shipping is also included.
The mission
of the Foundation is to promote safe and environmentally sensitive boating,
reduce accidents and fatalities, and increase stewardship of our water
resources. The Foundation also operates the only accredited, free, online
boating safety course, a free Kids Life Jacket Loaner Program, and awards
grants to non-profit groups for boating safety and environmental projects.
