Keeping Lake Erie waters safe

... can be a boater's best friend

PEDRO USCANGA, (left) a seaman for the Ashtabula station of the U.S. Coast Guard,
watches the harbor as boats pass Saturday near the Ashtabula Lift bridge Saturday.

ASHTABULA - Fighting 3- to 8-foot waves is just part of the fun for U.S. Coast Guard personnel patrolling area waters on a beautiful summer day.
It can really get ugly when that nice summer day turns into a windy fall day and misguided boaters find themselves stranded on a suddenly angry Lake Erie.
So far, this summer the Coast Guard has boarded 182 boats, had 80 search and rescues and numerous spot checks, said Boatswain's Mate Third Class James Doxtater.
Search and rescue has dropped the last few years, because of the education the Coast Guard has been doing with boaters, said Boatswain's Mate Second Class Kris VanSickle said.
Search and rescue missions, boat boarding and educational efforts are the prime focus of the Ashtabula Coast Guard station.
The crew consists of 10 men who rotate shifts. One shift is made up of
four men who have various duties. When on the waters of Lake Erie, the Coast Guard may go as far as the border of Lake County all the way to Elk Creek in Pennsylvania.
Spot checks examine boats for life jackets or safety equipment while cruising in the Ashtabula River channel. Boarding of boats occurs when the Coast Guard physically stops and boards a boat checking all safety equipment on board.
"We can board any boat and educate the boater on boating safety," VanSickle said.
When a boat is boarded, the Coast Guard also hands out a brochure to boaters with the federal requirements and safety tips.
Within the last month, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted two search and rescues involving sinking boats, Van Sickle said. One was in Conneaut and one in Ashtabula Harbor, he said. There have been four such rescues this season.
The unit also assisted the Canadian Coast Guard last weekend when a 60-foot yacht sank two-miles off the Canadian American border.
The crew on duty that weekend was underway for 25 hours, said Boatswain's Mate Third Class Steve Harroun, who was on his last shift Saturday, for the Ashtabula station.
Even before leaving the station on a search and rescue, the Coast Guard needs to know the boats general location, how many people are on board and the nature of the emergency, Doxtater said. Some emergency equipment is not always stored on the boat because of its size, so the nature of emergency and or injuries is important, he said.
If need be a Coast Guard helicopter out of Buffalo N.Y., is launched to aid in the search, Doxtater said. If a flare was seen the local law enforcement may be called to assist, he said. Usually someone on land has seen the flare and the police are asked to that location and leave their lights on.
"It helps us to see the lights to try pinpoint a location," Doxtater said.
On an average the Coast Guard is out on the water 20 hours a weekend. If there is a search and rescue, it could be any from three to 11 hours just on the search and rescue, Harroun said.
The Coast Guard boat can handle up to eight feet waves and needs clearance to go out in higher.
This year the number of boaters out on the waters is about the same as last year, even though this summer seemed hotter and drier.

STEVE HARROUN (left), a boatswain mate third class for the U.S. Coast (left) and Kris VanSickle, a boatswain mate second class, complete a patrol on the Ashtabula River Saturday near the coast guard station.