The boater’s ditch bag, used for near-shore ocean fishing
on a 23-foot boat, includes, from left, light sticks, emergency rations, a whistle,
drinking water, cord for tethering people together, a hand-held VHF radio,
a personal locator beacon, a strobe light and a flashlight. The floating yellow ditch bag
also contains sunscreen and a basic first-aid kit.
Willie Howard/The Coastal Star
By Willie Howard
The disappearance of two boys who ran a 19-foot boat into the ocean off Jupiter in July reminds everyone who operates a boat on the ocean of a simple fact: the need to be prepared to survive and call for help if the boat fails.
Family members said the 14-year-old boys, Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, were avid fishermen and experienced boaters. They were last seen at fuel docks near Jupiter Inlet the morning of July 24. The Coast Guard found their capsized boat two days later, drifting off Volusia County.
An extensive search followed, but the teens have not been found.
It’s not clear what safety equipment the boys had on their boat. But it’s fair to say that if they’d had access to drinking water, life jackets and a satellite beacon when the boat capsized, the boys would have had a far greater chance of being rescued.
How prepared should boaters be to roam the vast Atlantic waters off South Florida? To some degree, it depends on how far they’re planning to venture from land and the type of boat they’re running.
But generally speaking, boaters headed into the ocean off Palm Beach County — where the Gulf Stream current typically flows north at walking speed — should carry some type of floating emergency kit, best known as a ditch bag, that can be grabbed as quickly as life jackets.
What should a boater’s ditch bag contain?
Ted Sensenbrenner, assistant director of boating safety for the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water, said boaters should think of three things when assembling an emergency bag: being heard, being seen and being aware (in a clear state of mind).
Here’s a list of ditch-bag items suggested by Sensenbrenner based on those three principles:
• A cellphone in a waterproof bag.
• A hand-held VHF radio, kept charged and ready to use, allows you to reach other boaters in your area (and could enable you to reach the Coast Guard if you were close enough to shore). Every other boater on the water, within range, can hear a mayday distress call if his boat’s VHF radio is tuned to Channel 16. A boater who is already on the water might respond well before the Coast Guard begins a search.
• A satellite beacon. Personal locator beacons, or PLBs, can be purchased for about $250. Prices for EPIRBs (emergency position-indicating radio beacons) start at about $450. Once activated, the beacon sends a boater’s identifying information and location through a network of satellites and ground stations, alerting the U.S. Mission Control Center in Maryland, to begin the rescue process. Satellite beacons must be registered with NOAA and maintained to be effective.
(Note: BoatUS rents EPIRBs and PLBs for those planning boat trips such as a Bahamas crossing. Prices start at $45 a week. Go to www.Boatus.org and click on “equipment rentals.”)
• Signal devices, including flares designed for day and nighttime use, strobe lights that can be attached to life jackets, a waterproof flashlight and a signal mirror.
• Drinking water, along with food bars and/or sealed emergency rations. A basic first-aid kit and prescription medications needed by those on board also are recommended.
“You can’t really come up with a rescue plan unless you’ve nourished your body and your brain,” Sensenbrenner said.
Ditch bags should be clearly labeled and kept in an easy-to-reach place. A well-stocked ditch bag is worthless if it goes down with the boat. Everyone on board should be made aware of the location of life jackets and the ditch bag before getting underway.
For the bag itself, choose a bright color that could be spotted easily from the air if you were adrift in the ocean. Bags designed for boating emergencies are often yellow, trimmed with reflective tape and have pockets for radios, flashlights, satellite beacons and other emergency gear.
Don’t be overwhelmed by the cost and time needed to assemble a ditch bag. A basic emergency boating bag is better than none at all, but Sensenbrenner said a personal locator beacon, or PLB, “should be part of a serious boater’s gear.”
Capt. Nick Cardella of Boca Raton-based Nick C Fishing Charters said he carries a ditch bag when he’s headed offshore to fish for dolphin or swordfish on his 28-foot Bluewater.
“It really is something you should carry on the boat,” he said. “Storms come up fast.”
For longer trips, such as crossings to the Bahamas, consider a life raft. Life rafts can be rented for those who plan to use them only a few times a year. They inflate automatically and are typically stocked with survival gear.
Capt. Geno Pratt, who operates the 51-foot Geno IV charter boat based at Boynton Harbor Marina, carries an eight-man life raft and an EPIRB that activates automatically on trips to the Bahamas.
“Make sure you have good life jackets and an EPIRB,” Pratt said. “That will save you.”
Just say ‘wahoo!’
David Belzer caught a 42-pound, 1-ounce wahoo July 25 by simply drifting a dead sardine at night on the Living on Island Time drift boat.
Capt. Max Parker said Belzer was drifting the sardine on a pair of 5/0 hooks and about 5 feet of 50-pound-test monofilament leader, which could have easily been severed by the toothy wahoo.
The Island Time was drifting in 160 feet of water off Delray Beach when the wahoo struck around 9 p.m.
September events
Sept. 1: Snook season opens and remains open through Dec. 14. A Florida saltwater fishing license and a snook permit (unless exempt) are required. Daily bag limit: one snook. To be legal to keep, snook must measure between 28 and 32 inches in total length. Different rules apply to snook taken on the state’s west coast and the Florida Keys. Details: www.myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recreational.
Sept. 19: X Generation 440 Challenge fishing tournament for kingfish, dolphin and wahoo. Includes $500 prize for heaviest cobia, mutton or yellowtail snapper and bonito or blackfin tuna. Based at Palm Beach Yacht Center in Hypoluxo. Captain’s meeting 5-8 p.m. Sept. 18 at Palm Beach Yacht Center. Entry fee $250. Details: 577-0706 or www.xgeneration440.com.
Sept. 19: Volunteers needed for the Coastal Cleanup. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at most locations, including Spanish River Park and South Inlet Park in Boca Raton; the Sandoway House Nature Center in Delray Beach; Ocean Inlet Park in Ocean Ridge; and Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park in Boynton Beach. Details: www.keeppbcbeautiful.org.
Sept. 24: CCA/Florida’s South Palm Beach County Chapter holds its fifth annual banquet and auction, 6 p.m., Benvenuto restaurant, 1730 N. Federal Highway, Boynton Beach. Tickets: $100 per person. Corporate tables for 10 guests $1,500. Call Matthew Behm, 644-2788 or email: mbehm@ccaflorida.org.
Sept. 26: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 54, 8 a.m. at the Coast Guard Auxiliary building (next to the boat ramps) at Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, Boynton Beach. Fee $40. Call Ron Cuneo, 389-1850.
George Culver holds spiny lobsters he bagged while diving during the last day of the mini season July 30
on the Delta’s Splash dive boat based at Boynton Harbor Marina. The Two Georges restaurant at the marina
is named for Culver’s late father and grandfather, who also operated drift fishing boats bearing the same name.
Willie Howard/The Coastal Star
Tip of the month
Dive for spiny lobster. Boat traffic often dwindles with the opening of school and the sometimes-stormy weather associated with the peak of the hurricane season. Late summer storms can stir the lobsters around, sometimes causing them to line up and walk along the bottom, looking for new places to hide.
A quick recap of the rules: A lobster’s head section must measure at least 3 inches to be legal to keep. No egg-bearing lobster may be taken. The daily bag limit is six. A saltwater fishing license and lobster permit are required unless exempt. The season remains open through March 31.
Boats supporting divers or snorkelers should fly a red-and-white dive flag (at least 20 by 24 inches), and divers in the water should tow a float-mounted dive flag or a float displaying the dive-flag emblem.
Boat operators must stay at least 300 feet away from dive flags/floats in open water and at least 100 feet away in inlets, channels and rivers. Those approaching closer should do so at idle speed.
No boat? Try looking for lobster under rocky ledges or around wrecks accessible from the beach, but don’t forget to tow a float-mounted dive flag while you’re searching.
Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net.
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