Newsletter TWO
Table Of Contents:
National Marina Day
Shark-Free Marinas
Great Lakes Beaches
DOT Update
Upcoming Podcasts/Facebook
SERIOUS INCIDENT DRUG and ALOCHOL Testing
Weather Lore

NATIONAL MARINA DAY:
The U.S. Senate approved a resolution designating August 8th, 2009 as National Marina Day. This resolution supports the goals of National Marina Day, and urges America's marinas to continue to serve as environmentally friendly gateways to boating. This special day celebrated it's 8th year and marinas across the country were asked to recognize the day at the facility by inviting people from their community to visit local marinas and to learn about the industry and the links that marinas provide to the waterways.

Planned celebrations were as small as providing handouts on clean waters to customers and guests, and as large as all-day festivities complete with banquets and fireworks. For more information on the event visit www.marinaassociation.org/nmd.

SHARK-FREE  MARINAS: We congratulate Harwich Port Boat Yard (www.harwichportboatyard.com) in Cape Cod MA on becoming one of  the first Shark-Free Marinas in the US! It is very important for Marinas to join this initiative. You can find a video on the blog page of the Shark-Free Marina website that will show you a little more about it. Surely no Marina wants to have this disturbing display take place at their location. Watch this video, and read the response by the Shark-Free Marina founder. Please help support this and get the word out. It's the right thing to do. A thank you to the Marina Network Group on facebook for the heads up!

LINK: http://www.sharkfreemarinas.com/blog/?p=269

GREAT LAKES BEACHES: A report from the National Resources Defense Council found that Great Lakes Beaches are among the dirtiest in the nation.
The report says that 15 percent of the water samples that were taken showed that the water was unsafe for people to swim in.

Pollution from dirty storm water runoff and sewage overflows continues to make its way to our beaches. Not only does it make swimmers sick, but it hurts coastal economies. Nationally, 7 percent of beach water samples violated health standards. The highest level of contamination was found in the Great Lakes, where 13 percent of beach water samples violated public health standards.
Yikes!...How can we change this?

DOT UPDATE: Under Department of Transportation regulations, employees in the aviation, rail, motor carrier, mass transit, MARITIME,  and pipeline industries who either fail or refuse to take a drug test must successfully complete a drug treatment program and pass a series of urine tests. To prevent cheating, the Department modified its regulations in 2008 to require that such tests be conducted under direct observation. Yep, you read right...they have to watch you do the job.

Some people have argued that this regulation violates both the Administrative Procedure Act and the Fourth Amendment. What would be an easy way to prevent this? Stay out of trouble!  :)

UPCOMING PODCASTS:
Explorer's Guide will be recording a few more podcasts throughout this next couple of weeks that deal with a variety of topics such as; using a VHF radio, proper distress signals, the steps to getting your captains license, and more. Also, if you're a facebook user, you can become friends on facebook to enjoy daily jokes, weather lore, safety facts,and other useful maritime info. SEARCH: Explorer's Guide


Special Note from the Field: SERIOUS INCIDENT DRUG and ALOCHOL Testing. We got a call from one of our students a week ago about the USCG asking why he did not do a drug/alcohol test when they sunk their boat.  First it is bad enough to sink a boat with clients, than get questioned about drug testing.

The law is very clear if you meet any of the conditions of a serious maritime incident – lose of life, injury beyond first aid, crew injured and cannot report for duty, lost over  $100,000, plus others. You are required to have an alcohol test within 2 hours and a drug within 32 hrs of the incident. There are major fines for not doing this.

In this case they di d not meet any of the criteria to trigger the testing. However, they were questioned rather vigorously about why they did not do it. We contacted the USCG Prevention people to see why a request was being made that did not meet the criteria. They agreed it did not make sense however, they are reviewing the facts. Here are three take-away from this incident.

First, make sure you can have an alcohol and drug test done within the times lines. Not being prepared is not an acceptable excuse and will cause you money.

Second, if you are directed to do the test, do them. The USCG has the right to order anyone at any time to take the test.

Third, know the law and your rights. USCG members are only human. They can make mistakes.  Be prepared to quote the cfr to protect your rights.

Weather Lore Aches and Pains: A coming storm your shooting corns presage,
aches will throb, your hollow tooth will rage.

There have been medical studies done that indicate some people actually experience this effect. The most likely reason is that with the fall in atmospheric pressure, blood vessels dilate slightly in reaction. This has the effect of aggravating already-irritated nerves near corns, cavities, or arthritic joints. So, next time Grandpa rambles about a storm a-comin' due to his achin' bones...give the old guy a break!


FALSE LORE- Pets Eating Grass: Cats and dogs eat grass before a rain.

While it's true that cats and dogs eat grass, it has nothing to do with the weather and is because cats and dogs are not exclusively carnivorous. Some researchers believe that dogs eat grass as an emetic when feeling ill.

For more information call 1-800-487-6029 or visit our website at www.explorersguidellc.com

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