Re: [Paddlewise] June Accidents

In a message dated 7/9/2002 6:22:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
skimmer_at_mail3.enter.net writes:


> I have been told that there were 3 major sea kayaking accidents 
> during the month of June. No information as to date or location.
> 
> Does the USCG deliberately try to keep these things off the radar?
> 

In defense of the already overworked Coasties, Chuck, I'll respond to your 
question on their activities.  Under federal law, the information on 
accidents and deaths is sent to Coast Guard HQ at Buzzard's Point in 
Washington, DC by each state's regulatory office that monitors water safety.  
The Coast Guard then compiles this information into an annual report that is 
available to anyone who wants the information.  Unfortunately, the time-late 
on this information can be well over a year --- and as much as two years --- 
late.  This is unfortunate, and probably not reasonable, considering that 
GE's former chairman, Jack Welsh, used to claim that each time WalMart sold a 
light bulb, a signal was sent to GE to build another one.  Unfortunately, 
eGovernment is not off to a blazing start.

As a Navy pilot who used to fly with the Coasties, and as one who helped 
design and acquire one of their aircraft, I have a lot of respect for these 
folks, for the jobs they're assigned, and for the lives they save.  And now 
Homeland Defense!  In an age where a very large, non-defense federal agency 
(and not the USCG) is still processing financial transactions in 11 regional 
offices across the country with carbon paper forms and mailing them --- 
snail-mailing them --- across country several times before the process is 
cleared, I guess we'll have to live with whatever feeds the states' 
bureaucracies feeding the Coast Guard's bureaucracy to get our hardcopy data 
on water safety for a while longer.

Jack Martin

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