Category: Health & Safety

Volvo Penta Electronic Vessel Controls. Photo courtesy Volvo Penta

The Benefits of Volvo Penta’s Electronic Vessel Control

6/3/2025 - By Kevin Falvey. With the EVC-upgrade program, Volvo Penta offers boaters a new way to refresh and elevate their boat-ownership experience. Maybe you own an older boat and don’t want to replace it but would love some “new boat” features such as assisted docking or a Dynamic Positioning System? Or… SEE MORE

Fishing’s Most Dangerous Animals — The Stingers

5/29/2025 - By Doug Olander. A look at marine creatures that sting anglers — sometimes with deadly results. Most of us don’t think of sport fishing as a particularly hazardous sport. No doubt statistics would bear out that it’s not. But every sport has its own unique risks, and saltwater fishing is no… SEE MORE

Nightfall no Longer Offers a Reliable Reprieve for Western US Firefighters

5/17/2025 - By research.noaa.gov. For decades, firefighting crews counted on falling temperatures and rising humidity at night to dampen wildfire activity, allowing them to rest, regroup and prepare for the next day. Over the last 20 years though, satellite measurements have confirmed a change reported in the western US by firefighters on… SEE MORE

The Importance of Having a Co-Captain

5/5/2025 - By Jim Hendricks. Having a co-captain can help ensure the safety of you, your crew and your vessel while out on the water on boating. Military fighter pilots can suffer from a condition called information overload, which can be brought about by overwhelming amounts of technology in the cockpit that… SEE MORE

Most Dangerous Inlets in the United States for Boaters

4/29/2025 - By Kevin Falvey. These 18 waterways require special US Coast Guard equipment and personnel due to the perilous conditions throughout the year. The title of my article makes a bold statement. I’m basing it on the US Coast Guard requirements for establishing what’s called a Surf Station. Surf Stations are… SEE MORE

Solving Boating Mysteries

3/4/2025 - By Charles Plueddeman. Mysteries solved? Local boaters do their best to get to the bottom of a couple of puzzling boating occurrences. Our neighborhood made the boating news twice in 2024, stories that have fueled the offseason hot-stove league here at the Lake View Inn, where everyone is welcome to… SEE MORE

The Ultimate Fluke Rig

2/28/2025 - By Louis Chemi. You don't always need live bait to catch a mess of summer flounder. Fred Chemi was the ultimate flounder pounder, fishing every summer weekend for as long as I remember. My dad fished with sand eels and squid in Long Island Sound. He used mummichogs and squid in… SEE MORE

Navigating Safely Around a Boat Being Towed

2/20/2025 - By Jim Hendricks. A vessel under tow presents a unique boating safety situation. Learn what you should, and should not, do if you encounter it. A floating traffic jam quickly developed as we joined a line of other boats, not unlike a solemn funeral procession, through a narrow channel behind… SEE MORE

Rain Douses Wildfires in Southern California Without Causing Serious Mudslides

1/25/2025 - By apnews.com. The first significant storm of the season brought snow and downpours to Southern California that doused wildfires and caused some ash and mud to flow across streets in the Los Angeles area on Monday. More than an inch (2.5 centimeters) of rain fell in many areas, loosening Los… SEE MORE

The Sea Level Calculator: A Comprehensive Data Resource for Coastal Communities

1/14/2025 - By coast.noaa.gov. With changing sea levels and more frequent and intense storms, tens of millions of people in the U.S. are at risk from coastal hazards. Communities need to understand how sea level and flooding are changing in their location so they can adapt to these risks. NOAA combined existing… SEE MORE