Very good summary and report of a valuable heads-up about security zones. Here in NYC, we have a listserve in which I and others regularly post updates on security zones (our local touring business and kayak shops also post the latest regs on their premises). The normal rule is to not to get closer than 25 yards to bridges and port facilities, for example, but recently the area around our large passenger ship docks and the USS Intrepid Museum was bumped up to a 100 yard zone. Occasionally something special is put in for a half day. For example, when we were escorting a swim race down the Hudson in mid-September something was going on on the Intrepid and the security zone was went to 200 yards for part of the day. We were forced to swing out wider into the river than we would have liked and as a result, with the fast currents, some swimmers missed their turn into the finish line just a half mile down river. As an aside, there had been stories circulating in NYC of a kayaker supposedly a day or so after 9-11-01 being approached by a small Coast Guard patrol boat and when alongside supposedly threw a knapsack into the patrol boat yelling it was a bomb. The story was ridiculous on the face of it (those boats were armed and he would have been shot or certainly arrested). I finally used the Freedom of Information Act to have the Coast Guard check its records. After a thorough check, nothing of the sort turned up according to the USCG Investigative Service. It was the maritime equivalent of an urban legend. Unforunately it had been making the rounds of local maritime commercial interests as well as Coast Guard people who should have known better. Who knows how such a rumor started, which it is unfortunate as it has made us more of a focus of attention than we might have ordinarily gotten. There have also been advisories out of Washington to local enforcement services of a potential for attack by kayaks (no kidding!) and zodiacs. Local wags kid about how outfitters and kayak instruction businesses should be on the alert for anyone who wants to learn how to launch a kayak and not learn about taking out. As for example of nervous reports. A true story. One folding kayaker went down to the waters at around 125th St. on the Hudson. He was wearing a wet suit. A passerby in a car on the West Side Highway saw this and used his cell phone to call 911. The next thing our folding kayak friend noticed were squad cars descending on him. They checked him out and he paddled away. I put something in Canoe and Kayak magazine a few months ago about how to behave in these perilous security conscious times on the water. Advice like have photo ID, keep your hands visible, no sudden reaching under your spray skirt...all common sensical stuff to abide by. ralph diaz *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Oct 16 2002 - 11:35:06 PDT
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