New Coast Guard Regulations

[AOFoffice]

This is information sent from Larry Palmer, with one of the AOF clubs in New Jersey. More AOF clubs who race on Coast Guard waters may want to check into this. Contact the AOF National Office for more information.
Message is as follows:
We just attended a work shop with the 5th. District of US Coast Guard. //// Due to new Homeland Security, new regulations and requirements. Any one who is holding a maratime event on any waters that involve the Coast Guard. [ jurasdiction and or on site race support ] must apply 135 days in advance of the requested scheduled Event. Check with your local Coast Guard district for forms to file and regulations. This new regulation is Nation wide.

[Bill Huson]

Insanity!

That's a 4 1/2 month lead time! This means if our club filed today the race wouldn't happen until the middle of June! All Region 4 races are on coastal rivers.

Morons . . .

[AOFoffice]

This seems a little harsh, and I am trying to check it out further. Maybe we can get exemptions or something. Luckily I have a brother who is a very wll paid lobbyist in Washington DC whom I utilize once in a while. I may have to send him to the homeland security office again for us.
I am also trying to get ahold of the Coast Guard for more clarification. I am guessing this might be one of the rules they implemented and don't have it in writing yet.
I am also not sure how many of our races would be affected. I think we would be ok in the Midwest, and it sounds like Florida should be ok from previous discussions.
Connie

[greybeard]

Not really new...

This is not really a new DHSCG requirement. I have had to deal with the US CG, DNR/DEQ and County Sheriff on sail race applications on the great lakes for my yacht club for over 15 years. 135 day requirement is more recent. Local CG is very copperative here and has bent the 135 for me. It seems their primary interest is lead time in scheduling their equipment/people and if you are requesting closure of a waterway. They are streached thin most everywhere and can only support a limited number of events at the same time. My advice is call the station responsible for the water you want and talk to them about the lead time etc..

[quicksilver96]

US Coast Guard

That's a 4 1/2 month lead time! This means if our club filed today the race wouldn't happen until the middle of June! All Region 4 races are on coastal rivers.

Morons . . .

We had to deal with the CG permit for a long time now. We had a regatta canceled due to weather. The insurance, and local town permitts let us reschudule for the next week. The CG red tape would not give us the permitt unless we had the required lead time. No regatta!!. We now take other means to get aroung them.

[14-H]

Terrorist in Boat Racing

We should invite those guys to participate. Then we can all bash into them in the first turn.

[Bill Huson]

Thinking . . . (can you smell the smoke?)

I believe this 135 day thing was created by a Homeland Security office dweeb who has never set foot on a boat and only has a vague idea what a "mariitime event" is. The previous lead time was 45 days which was in line with the APBA lead time for sanction filing = perfect. I can't recall the USCG being anything other than helpful with event filing and at the event itself. When I heard the USCG was going under the Homeland Security blanket I cried. I figured that be nothing but trouble for our fine USCG.

Coasties rule!

Homeland Security bites . . .