Re: [Paddlewise] Israeli kayakers rescued in Alaska (USCG video)

From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Aug 2009 11:27:54 -0700
On Wed, Aug 5, 2009 at 10:31 AM, <Pamvetdr_at_aol.com> wrote:

>  So, another question. Say that the paddlers neglected to get the name of
> the captain before they disembarked. Obviously they cannot send a check to
> "Vigilant", West Port, Washington. How do they figure out whom to give the
> money to (owner or Captain, not always the same person) and where to send
> it? This is especially pertinent when kayakers are from out of the area
> and ship is not by home port. Or do they have a few cases of beer air
> dropped  to the crew in their current location?
>

Well, in my humble opinion altogether too much beer is already consumed by
people operating boats so I'd rule that option out.

However there is a mechanism for discovering the owner (at least) of a
documented vessel (which most, but not all, fishing vessels are). This link
(  http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/CoastGuard/VesselByName.html ) will give
you the current owner's name and home port of the vessel.

The downside to this system is that there may be more than one vessel - or
fishing vessel - with the name *Vigilant*. In fact the list shows 31 of
them. But only five are listed as "commercial fishing vessels" and out of
those five several are obviously on the east coast of the USA. Only one, a
50-footer out of Seward, Alaska seems to fit the bill. So I'd contact
Glacier Seafoods of Seward, Alaska and see if their people were involved in
the rescue and ask them how to properly reward them.

I should point out that not all - or even most - vessels are documented.
Typically documentation is done only for a boat that can be expected to
travel outside the borders of the home country. At one time you didn't have
to register (get State registration) if your boat is documented but this has
changed over the years as the registration processes (like driver's
licenses) migrated towards revenue collection systems rather than service
mechanisms.

But most commercial fishing and passenger vessels are documented (at least
in the USA) which makes it pretty easy to find out who is responsible for
the boat if you have a name and home port (both must be clearly labeled on
the boat).


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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Received on Wed Aug 05 2009 - 13:20:03 PDT

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