SAN DIEGO — The Coast Guard urges boaters to be safety conscious on the water, as great weather is expected draw numerous boaters on the water this Labor Day weekend.

Though being safe on the water is paramount, there are significant actions mariners can take to remain safe and celebrate responsibly prior to heading out on the boat.

“If boating is a part of your holiday, please make safety a part of your plans,” said Chief Petty Officer Brad Adams, the officer in charge of Station San Diego. “Safe boating includes having a properly sized lifejacket for each person aboard, flares, fire extinguishers and all other state and federally required safety equipment. Alcohol and boating do not mix. If you intend to consume alcohol, assign a designated driver for your vessel. The Coast Guard and our Partner Agencies actively enforce Boating Under the Influence laws.”

Along with decreasing the operator's ability to make good judgments, boating under the influence negatively affects the ability of the operator to respond in the case of an emergency.  The effects of the sun, wind, waves and a boat's motion on the water, can all add to an operator's impairment.  Boaters found to be under the influence can face both federal and state charges with penalties of up to one year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

To maintain safety while on the water, members of the boating public must remember to always wear a life jacket, file a float plan with a friend or family member and have a working VHF-FM radio and electronic position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) on board.  Doing these simple tasks before leaving the dock could save your life or the life of your passengers.

Wear a life jacket. The U.S. Coast Guard estimates that life jackets could have saved the lives of more than 80 percent of boating fatality victims.

Carry a VHF-FM marine radio. Cell phones often lose signal and run out of batteries after a day on the water. They are helpful, but not reliable for emergencies.

Register your EPIRB. Response time is the key to survival. The sooner help arrives, the better the chances for survival. Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBS) provide the fastest and most accurate way the Coast Guard has of locating and rescuing persons in distress.

Have a Vessel Safety Check. It’s a great way of learning about problems that might put boaters in violation of state or federal laws, or create danger for boaters and passengers on the water. Best of all, it’s free! For more information, visit www.sectorsandiegoauxiliary.us/

Take a boating safety course. Make sure the boat operator is both experienced and competent. Boaters can learn the basics about their vessels and the "rules of the road" inAmerica's Boating Course, a new electronic boating course produced through a partnership between the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the United States Power Squadrons. For more information, visit www.americasboatingcourse.com

Never boat under the influence (BUI). Intoxicated boaters can face both federal and state charges with penalties of up to one year in prison and up to $100,000 in fines.

File a float plan. There are too many facts that need to be accurately remembered and conveyed in an emergency situation. Without a float plan boaters are counting on someone else, a friend, neighbor, or family member to remember detailed information that rescue personnel need in order to find you. For more information, visit www.floatplancentral.org

Keep an eye on the Marine Forecast. Environmental conditions are constantly changing. Checking the marine weather forecast before heading out on the water helps mariners be better prepared. For more information, visit www.weather.gov.

Remember the basics. Emergencies can happen to anyone. Ensure that you are equipped with enough food and water to last longer than you plan to be on the water. Know where the safety equipment is kept onboard and how to properly use it. Also, remember to protect yourself against the sun. The reflection off the water may intensify the sun’s effect.

In addition, the Coast Guard would like to remind boaters of established “zones.” These zones may be put in place during marine events, escorts and large U.S. Navy vessels. The purpose of these zones is to set up parameters for the safe navigation while transiting inside San Diego Bay.

Boating safety information and the current boating safety statistic report is available on the U.S. Coast Guard boating safety web site at: www.uscgboating.org.

SAN DIEGO – The Coast Guard medically evacuated a woman from a cruise ship about 12 miles east of San Clemente Island, Calif., in the early morning hours Tuesday.

At about midnight the Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC) received a call from the cruise ship Carnival Paradise that one of their passengers aboard was experiencing possible cardiac problems and requested a medevac. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted on the matter and agreed the 43 year-old-woman should be taken off the cruise ship for immediate medical attention.

Coast Guard Sector San Diego launched a MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter to the cruise ship to remove the woman. The helicopter arrived on scene approximately 1:30 a.m., and the crew hoisted the patient from the ship to the helicopter. She was then transferred to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., just after 2 a.m.

SAN DIEGO – The Coast Guard flew two more flights Sunday over the oil sheen that was initially spotted Saturday morning.

Coast Guard Sector San Diego launched a MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter at 6:30 a.m., with a pollution investigator onboard to assess the sheen. The pollution investigator said it appeared the sheen had dissipated about 70 per cent since the initial report yesterday morning.  A second helicopter flew over the area at 11 a.m., and did not see any of the sheen.

It had been determined the sheen was unrecoverable because “it did not appear to be feasible to do an open water recovery,” Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Salviati said. Salviati is one of the pollution investigators who flew yesterday afternoon to get a look at the oil sheen. “From the imagery it looked like it was a lighter fuel due to the color and how fast it dissipated in the initial hours. Because of the dissipation it appears there would not be any impact to the shoreline.”

Salviati says investigators are attempting to determine the source of the oil sheen, however due to the amount of vessel traffic in the area it makes it almost impossible to establish where the sheen came from.

Anyone with any information about the sheen is encouraged to call the Joint Harbor Operations Center at 619.278.7031.

For media inquiries, please contact Petty Officer Allyson Conroy at 619.247.5064.

SAN DIEGO – The Coast Guard is monitoring an oil sheen from an unknown source appearing about six miles west of Imperial Beach that stretches south of the Mexican border Saturday afternoon.

At approximately 11:30 a.m., the Joint Harbor Operations Center (JHOC) in San Diego received a call from a mariner aboard a recreational vessel who was in the area and noticed an oily sheen in the water.

Coast Guard Sector San Diego diverted a MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter from a training mission to investigate the report. The aircrew noticed the sheen was a trail approximately a half mile wide that extended westward about 15 miles before turning south into Mexican waters. The Coast Guard is working with the Mexican authorities and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to monitor the situation.

An oil sheen means the substance is petroleum-based that is typically lighter such as diesel fuel or other fuels, and makes a rainbow-like effect in the water.

The Coast Guard will continue to monitor the seen and work with Mexican authorities to determine the best course of action.

SAN DIEGO – The Coast Guard medically evacuated a U.S. Navy crewmember from the USS Sentry Thursday afternoon.

Just before 1p.m., the Sentry sent out a broadcast notice to mariners stating they had a crewman who needed medical assistance. A Coast Guard 33-foot response boat was in the area and responded to the ship’s call asking if they would like help transferring the man to emergency medical services.

Almost immediately the sailor was transferred from the Navy vessel to the Coast Guard boat and taken to Point Loma Submarine Base where he was tended to by base medical services.

SAN DIEGO -- A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Sector San Diego medically evacuated a cruise ship passenger 40 miles west of San Diego late Friday night.

The crew of the cruise ship Carnival Paradise notified the Coast Guard that the 55-year-old woman was experiencing severe abdominal pain. A Coast Guard flight surgeon was consulted and recommended the woman be medically evacuated.

The helicopter crew arrived on scene just after midnight, and hoisted the patient and the cruise ship nurse.

The patient was flown to Sector San Diego, where awaiting emergency medical service transported her to Scripps Mercy Hospital.

***EDITOR'S NOTE***

This video is from a previous medical evacuation conducted aboard the cruise ship Carnival Paradise.

Click on video below to open in new window.

SAN DIEGO - The Coast Guard medically evacuated a 62-year-old woman from the cruise ship Carnival Paradise 25 miles from San Diego Aug. 23, 2009, after being notified that she was suffering from a head injury. U.S. Coast Guard video by Petty Officer 3rd Class Henry G. Dunphy

SAN DIEGO – The Coast Guard medically evacuated a man from a sport fishing vessel near the north island of the Coronado Island chain Thursday afternoon.  

The Joint Harbor Operations Center received a call from the fishing vessel Outer Limits at 8:19 a.m., stating a 68-year-old man aboard the boat was having health issues and fading in and out of consciousness.

At the time of the call the fishing vessel was more than 70 miles south of San Diego. The Coast Guard and vessel maintained communications through the morning until it was decided by the Eleventh District flight surgeon to take the man off of the boat.

Coast Guard Sector San Diego diverted a 33-foot response boat to remove the man.  The boat crew arrived on scene just before 3 p.m., and transported the man to San Diego Harbor Police, where he was then taken to the hospital by awaiting emergency medical technicians.

***EDITOR'S NOTE*** NO IMAGERY AVAILABLE

SAN DIEGO - U. S. Coast Guard Lt Rob Wyman of Coast Guard Sector San Diego recently returned from duty supporting Coast Guard oil recovery operations at the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Lt. Wyman served as a Director of Branch Operations overseeing the coordination and deployment of multiple response assets from the local, state and federal governments involved in clean up and oil skimming operations along the Florida coast.  Wyman’s assignment was instrumental to response and recovery efforts in the largest oil spill response in U.S. history. 

Wyman has been a member of the Coast Guard Reserve since 1998. He is a 1990 graduate of the University of California, San Diego, and a resident of Long Beach, Calif.

In a matter of days, the government stood up a joint organization, integrating hundreds of Federal, state and local agencies, industry, and academia, to conduct an operation spanning 460,000 square miles of ocean--an area larger than the State of Texas and California combined--and 750 miles of shoreline, making this response the largest of this kind.

The government is overseeing an unprecedented, cutting edge operation at the sea floor, at 5,000 feet of depth.  This operation encompasses the efforts of 100 private companies, including experts from nine oil companies, as well as the Coast Guard, Navy, Departments of Energy and the Interior, the EPA and at least three Federal labs.

SAN DIEGO - U. S. Coast Guard Lt.j.g. Laura Anderson of Coast Guard Sector San Diego recently returned from duty supporting Coast Guard oil recovery operations at the Deep Water Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Anderson served as an Offshore Task Leader and Deputy Branch Director and was responsible for the coordination and deployment of response assets with the local, state and federal governments which assisted in the protection of the area beaches along the Gulf Coast. Anderson oversaw tactical control of multiple Coast Guard and civilian assets which were directly involved in offshore clean up and oil skimming operations.  Anderson’s assignment was instrumental to response and recovery efforts in the largest oil spill response in U.S. history. 

Anderson joined the Coast Guard Reserve following graduation from the Merchant Maine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y., in 2007, and is currently a resident of Escondido, Calif.

In a matter of days, the government stood up a joint organization, integrating hundreds of Federal, state and local agencies, industry, and academia, to conduct an operation spanning 460,000 square miles of ocean--an area larger than the State of Texas and California combined--and 750 miles of shoreline making this response the largest of this kind.

The government is overseeing an unprecedented, cutting edge operation at the sea floor, at 5,000 feet of depth.  This operation encompasses the efforts of 100 private companies, including experts from nine oil companies, as well as the Coast Guard, Navy, Departments of Energy and the Interior, the EPA and at least three Federal labs.