September 2008 - GSL-Marina - mailman.xmission.com

Marina News 10-1-08
by GSL Harbormaster 30 Sep '08

30 Sep '08

Marina News Great Salt Lake State Marina October 1, 2008 Water Watch Begins Tomorrow October 1st begins the 2009 Water Year. This year, with the water in the marina being so critical, I will begin tracking several variables and reporting on these on a regular basis called "Great Salt Lake Water Watch". Numbers we will be watching will be: Direct precipitation in the lake Great Salt Lake Drainage Snowpack levels and percentages River Flows Lake Level Net rise/loss of lake level. Expect all numbers to be at zero tomorrow. Slip Rental Fees October is the last month of summer rental rates. Slip rents change in November. Winter Rental Rates are as follows: 21' B, E and I dock $63/month 21' C and D $42/month 25' I dock $75/month 25' C, D and J dock $50/month 30' slips $90/month 35' slips $105/month 40' slips $120/month L dock $50/month Secured Dry $50/month Unsecured Dry $25/month every month of the year Slip Rental Contracts ALL slip rental contracts expire December 31st, 2008 at midnight. This may seem a little early to talk about the renewal process but we will be auditing all slip rental accounts starting next week. Contracts and statements will be sent out the first week of November. Any slip renter with an excessive outstanding balance will not receive a renewal contract. If you have an outstanding balance, please work on getting it caught up before November 1st so you will receive a renewal package. All contracts for the 2009 season must be in by January 5th or it will be assumed you plan to vacate your slip. With the lake as low as it is there is great competition for prime slips. Don't loose yours. Parking stickers will also change color in 2009 along with gate keys and electronic gate codes. Only people with current 2009 slip contracts will receive the new passes, keys and codes. If you haven't noticed by now, we are actively checking for passes and issuing compliance notices. User group clubs such as Great Salt Lake Rowing, Utah Crew and the Hawaiian Cultural Center, your club designees will receive 2009 packages upon completion of any agreements or terms in your SUP or MOU. You will then receive your parking passes and codes from your club designees. If you are the club designee, please contact me by phone or email in the next few weeks so we may schedule a meeting. Spiders and Black Widows Eric Johnson, our new seasonal employee, has done a great job eradicating the Orb Weaver spider this summer. It was the best we have ever seen it here. We learned a lot this season trying to cut down on the numbers of these spiders. The first thing we learned is that there is not much we can do until they start to mature and become large enough that they are no longer airborne. Once this happens, active spraying keeps them down quite well. The eradication of this spider does bring a serious problem though. Orb Weavers, although quite ugly and prolific, are harmless and non-aggressive to humans. Yet they are quite aggressive towards other spider species. When you eliminate the Orb Weaver, you allow other species of spiders to start moving in and taking hold. One of the common species of spiders along the Great Salt Lake shores and islands is the Western Black Widow spider. This spider, although not aggressive to humans, is quite poisonous, and can make an individual very sick with excruciating pain at the bite sight, in the muscles and tissues and create serious flu like symptoms. Other symptoms may include nausea, profuse perspiration, tremors, labored breathing, restlessness and increased blood pressure. Symptoms often diminish after a day or so and cease after several days. It is rarely fatal to healthy adults but can be a very serious risk to the young, aged and pets. We do have Black Widows in the marina and we have noticed them moving into areas along the docks. They like cold, dark areas. Check thoroughly for these spiders when you are out to visit your boats. For more information on the Western Black Widow go to www.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-Fact/2000/2061A Maybe the Orb Weavers weren't so bad to have around. I-80 Eastbound Onramp Closure Continues Someone dumped a large amount of sulfuric acid on the eastbound onramp to Interstate 80 creating a hazardous area. It appears this action was intentional. The acid is very dangerous and must be cleaned up before the onramp can be open again. No date has been announced for the reopening. Until then, anyone heading east must travel down the frontage road to 7200 west (exit 111). Lake Level Well, the lake seems to be stabilizing. I predicted earlier this year that the lake would reach 4193.7 This may be a slightly pessimistic view now. The current level is 4194.1. If daytime temperatures stay cool we may only drop a few tenths of a foot for the rest of the year putting us around 4193.9 for the yearly low. But, long term thinkers that we are, the marina management has decided to implement a new policy with our marina users. Each user, before being allowed to enter the park, must fill a five gallon bucket of water from the tap at their homes or places of work. This water must be transported to the marina and deposited into the lake for each and every visit from October 1st to May 1st of Next year. Eric Johnson, our new seasonal, will be on hand at the stop sign and fee station to check for proper parking stickers and to check that the bucket of water you are transporting to the marina does indeed include 5 US gallons of water. Seasonal Outlook and Weather Pattern Change Fall is upon us now. This brings many changes. The biggest change is to the weather. During the summer Great Salt Lake is usually in a monsoonal pattern which brings afternoon thunderstorms, lightning and rain. This monsoonal season was very week for Great Salt Lake exacerbating the dry summer and drought situation. But we are now turning the seasonal corner and moving away from the week monsoonal pattern. Now we move to a more active Frontal Weather pattern. Frontal patterns are characterized by moderate to strong and warm south winds preceding a front. As the front gets closer the winds will build, becoming gustier and more violent. The most violent gusts will be as the front passes over and then the winds will switch to the north. These northern winds will initially be strong at the center of the front and then gradually weaken as the front moves out of the area. The southerly pre-frontal winds bring blustery wind conditions that can be gusty and violent at the Great Salt Lake Marina. Typically these winds will max out in the 40 to 50 knot range but often climb into the 70 knot range. 100 knot winds are not uncommon and usually happen once or twice a year. The unofficial record for a wind gust at the Great Salt Lake Marina is 214 mph. Pre-frontal winds can be very damaging to unsecured property (and even secured at times). Waves will usually not be very big near the marina but will build rapidly up the lake. Tooele Twisters are common in a pre-frontal flow. Skies usually remain clear but dusty during these fronts with relatively warm temperatures. As the front passes over it will usually bring a wall of rain, strong north winds with large waves, and occasionally lightning. Temperatures will rapidly drop with the front. Waves will build down the lake reaching heights of 4 to 6 feet just outside the marina. Eight to ten foot waves are not unheard of farther up the lake, especially near the Hat Island shelf. A positive storm surge of one foot (Three feet is not unheard of) will increase water levels along the south shore. Northern winds and waves will gradually decrease as the front moves out of the area. These wind and waves will typically dissipate within 12 hours bringing flat water, cool temperatures and clear skies. The Frontal pattern lasts through the fall, all winter and finally ends around mid May. The most violent frontal storms usually start early February through March. Long Range Weather Outlook Current Long Term charts show the drought persisting in the Bear River Drainage area. This is not good since this is a significant source of water for the Great Salt Lake. The charts show now drought conditions for the Weber/Ogden, nor the Jordan River area. (Of course not. They still have all our Great Salt Lake water from last winter. Water hogging little #*!$&). Temperatures are forecasted to remain above normal for the Great Salt Lake basin from October through December. Yet there is an equal chance of drier than normal or wetter than normal conditions (This is what I call a wishy-washy, no-way-to-be-wrong forecast). Secure Your Property Last week I sent a testy note to our slip renters after visiting my slip on 'K' dock and seeing it totally trashed. This message has nothing to do with that issue. But I am quite concerned with the approaching frontal weather pattern and loose objects on all the docks. Last spring we had quite a bit of unsecured property in the docks and dry storage. After a potent storm, this stuff was dispersed throughout the marina and adjacent beaches. One particularly large board impaled itself in the lawn and another traveled from the Mast Crane all the way across E dock, D, dock, took a mast out on C dock and landed on B dock. In the past we have had small boats become airborne including a canoe that traveled from the dinghy rack and impaled itself in the fence at the top of E dock. Fuel cans regularly end up in the lake spilling gas and diesel in the water before littering the breakwater. Fenders are constantly found in the lake. Dock boxes end up in the water and along the beaches. Safety is of great concern to us. Therefore we will be enforcing tidy docks. We would like some help from our slip renters, dry storage renters and marina users. We want to have the marina clean and secure in the next few weeks. 1. Secure your boats. CHECK YOUR DOCK LINES. If they look old, chafed or worn, replace them. They are much cheaper than the damage that will occur to your boats. 2. If your boats are in dry storage, secure them. 3. Do not store your boats with the mast up unless your boat is in a slip in the water. 4. Check your rigging. Secure it. Make sure it is properly pinned with STAINLESS STEEL pins. Paper clips are not stainless. 5. Secure your halyards. Moving halyards will chafe along spreaders and will eventually break. And they are noisy during storms. 6. Secure your boat covers. 7. Secure your furling sails. Tightly spool them up and then wrap a halyard around them. Or better yet, if you are not going sailing, remove your sails. 9. Secure your mainsail. Cover it and then wind a sheet or line around the sail and boom. Or better yet, if you are not going sailing, remove your sail. 10. Secure your power line. It SHALL NOT drape in the water. Make sure it is not a tripping hazard. Make sure it will not be in the way of snow removal this winter. 11. Secure your water hose. Coil it neatly and make sure it is not a tripping hazard, nor a nuisance to your neighbor. 12. Remove your hose for winter after the water has been shut off to the docks. 13. Securely bolt down your dock box. If your dock box has seen better days, remove it and replace it with a new one. 14. If it is not your power cord, your hose, or your dock box, it does not belong on the dock. All fuel tanks must be stored on your boat or in your dock box. Any chairs must be secured to your boat or stored in your dock box. All lines must properly be stowed within your boat or dock box. etc. etc. etc. 15. Remove your dinghy and all spars from the dock. If it cannot be stored in the water within your slip, it must be removed and stored either on the dinghy rack or in one of our dry storage areas (with prior agreement). 16. Look around your slip or storage area. Can you see anything just sitting out? Paint Cans, brushes, ladders, boxes, wood, etc. Clean it up and throw it away or put it away. It may look heavy but it will get airborne and cause damage or injure someone. I know that the Pumpkin Patch is coming soon and many of you want to keep your kayaks or dinghies out until that time. This is fine. But we would like to have the whole marina clean and secured by November 1st. The maintenance crew and the Genesis kids will be going through the marina on November 3rd. Any remaining water hoses will be removed (if you want to keep your hose remove it before this date or it will be gone. They are a winter hazard and make snow removal hard). Any remaining loose objects will be removed from the docks. This pretty well includes everything except power cords. Dry storage and Unsecured Dry Storage will also be thoroughly cleaned. Budget Cuts The Utah economy is having an impact on all State agencies. This includes Great Salt Lake State Marina. State Parks is targeting a 4% cut. Currently, the powers-that-be are deciding the fate of our budgets. We do not know what kind of an impact that this may have on the marina but we will have to scale back some projects we were hoping to complete this year. We do hope that this will not mean cutting employees since we are already thin here. Moving Slips without permission DON'T. Ask first. We WILL accommodate you. Brine Shrimp Season Brine Shrimp Season starts tomorrow, October 1st at noon. It ends sometime in January if DWR does not cut the season short. Cyst counts look good this year so they may have a good season. Duck Hunting Season Duck Hunting Season begins this Saturday, October 4th and will go into January. The hunters are allowed to hunt to within 1/4 mile of the marina. No closer. They can only fire shotguns within this boundary. All other firearms are not permitted to be discharged within a mile of any state park facility. Boats will be launching early each morning before sunrise and will often return after sunset. This could make for some very loud morning launches. I have yet to see a duck hunting boat that would safety withstand the conditions Great Salt Lake throws at them. The only thing that keeps these duck hunters safe on Great Salt Lake is the smart boating wisdom displayed by some of the more experienced boaters of this group. Yet, too many duck hunters do not know what this lake can do or the limitations of their boats. If you see some of these types, start a conversation, be friendly and maybe give them some advise from your experiences. Due to the dry conditions and the shallowness of the Great Salt Lake this year DWR is estimating that duck hunting will be poor along the Great Salt Lake shores. and its tributaries. This may keep duck hunting to a minimum on the main lake body and along the south shore. Boating at Night Now that we've talked about Brine Shrimping and Duck Hunting, we can properly talk about boating at night. Many sailors and kayakers like to boat at night on the lake. Especially during the full moon nights. This is perfectly fine and legal. In fact it is a great time to boat on the Great Salt Lake and enjoy what it has to offer. But too often people are boating without the proper lights. Now that the waters are going to be much busier with all the commercial and hunting activity, it is ever more important to make sure you can be seen. And it is the law. Both Great Salt Lake Marina and Antelope Island will be doing night patrols, with the brine shrimp season, and will be enforcing the navigation lights. I will confess my greatest fear to you. It is having to do a rescue or vessel assist at night and running over a kayaker or small sailboat that wasn't properly lit with navigation lights. Radar has its limitations. Very often it is hard to pick up a kayaker and sometimes even a larger sailboat. They don't make the best targets for radar to bounce off of. Be Safe, Use navigation lights prescribed by law. Quagga & Zebra Mussels Recently I sent out an email about the Quagga Mussel and Zebra Mussel and how this affects you as a Great Salt Lake boater. I sent out a notice about a seminar being hosted by the Colorado River Team. They are inviting you to attend the free seminar. The date of this seminar is October 7th. They would like you to register in advance if you plan to attend. The link is http://100thmeridian.org/COLRBregform2008.asp Water to the Docks We are getting closer to the date when we will be turning off the water to the docks and the Pump-A-Head docks. Only a few short weeks away. We have scheduled the turn off date for October 27th. but this could be effected by a cold snap. Get your boats cleaned early. Get your heads pumped out now and keep them low. You never know when we may have to shut the water off for the year. And a little note about dumping Porta-Potties in the restroom. DON'T. JUST DON'T DO IT! TAKE THEM HOME! We had a very serious mess two weeks ago that clogged up, shut down and flooded both restrooms. These restrooms are not designed for the volume of material and toilet paper that can come from a porta-potty. The system clogged up. Then some tourists came into the restrooms and tried to use them. This stressed the system out even more forcing water and fowl up through every toilet and drain until it was a stinky soupy horrific mess flowing out into the lawn. This mess took several hours to clean up and created a health concern for those of us that had to clean up the mess. Dumping of porta-potties in the restrooms will be considered a serious violation of the slip agreement. Safe Harbor - Concept In the times of dangerous storms or when a vessel is in imminent distress, a marina, whether public or private, is obligated to grant Safe Harbor to a vessel and her crew. All five active marinas on Great Salt Lake have restrictions on commercial or recreational use of their marinas. Great Salt Lake State Marina, for example, cannot, by law, allow brine shrimping operations within its boundaries. Yet the marina is obligated to grant Safe Harbor to a vessel, when a vessel or her crew is in imminent danger as are all marinas on Great Salt Lake. You, as a vessel operator, also have responsibilities when requesting Safe Harbor. You are obligated to attempt to make contact with the marina authority prior to entering the marina. You must request Safe Harbor and state the reasons for the request. you must obey the instructions and directions of the marina authority. You are not entitled to use any facilities in the marina that would be out of the scope of safety or protection, unless granted by the marina authority. You are not entitled to stay any longer than is necessary for the immediate safety of you, your crew and your vessel unless granted by the marina authority. As stated above, when requesting Safe Harbor, the marina authority is obligated to provide you access to their marina only for the safety of you, your crew and your vessel. This doesn't not preclude you from asking permission, at any time, to enter a marina for any other reason. The marina may grant permission to do so but is not obligated to grant access. We have recently concluded a Safe Harbor document and understanding with all the current functioning marinas of Great Salt Lake. This document includes locations, phone numbers, instructions, operating radio frequencies, GPS coordinates, etc. This document is available upon request. 22nd Annual Bison Range Ride and Round-up The public is invited to attend a modern, western roundup from 8am to 5pm Wednesday, October 22nd through Friday, October 24th when horseback riders move the Antelope Island bison herd from the southern tip of the island, to the handling facility located at the park's northern end. This annual event is an opportunity for the public to see the roundup of one of the nation's largest and oldest public herds. Visitors may view the riders and bison from the eastside road leading to the Fielding Garr Ranch. A complete and sweeping view of the action is available from a safe distance. Visitors are encouraged to bring binoculars for a closer view of the animals and handlers. If necessary, helicopters will be used Saturday, October 25 to gather any stragglers and complete the roundup. The public may view the helicopter push from the eastside road and from Buffalo Point. >From October 31st through November 2nd, between 8am and 5pm, daily, visitors may observe as the bison are weighed, blood-tested, inoculated, and scanned. On Saturday, November 8th, the excess bison will be sold in order to keep the population within the carrying capacity of the island's available forage. Food, drink and memorabilia, such as t-shirts and sweatshirts, are available for purchase throughout the Bison Roundup. To reach Antelope Island State Park, take I-15 to exit 332 and travel west on Antelope Drive to the entrance station. Park fees are $9 per vehicle. For more information please call 801-773-2941 Other Upcoming Events October 4th Great Salt Lake Rowing Annual Meeting held at the marina pavilion October 11th & 12th Fall Regatta #2 hosted by GSLYC October 18th Sprints hosted by GSLR October 22nd Bison Round-up, see above October 26th Mast Dropping Party hosted by Great Salt Lake State Marina November 1st Crane Day November 22nd Dave's Turkey Cup December 6th Winter Regatta 1 hosted by GSLYC December 20th Bottom of the Pit Party hosted by Great Salt Lake State Marina Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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Tomorrow's Marina Calendar
by Dave Shearer 25 Sep '08

25 Sep '08

GSL Slip Renters and Marina Users Tomorrow morning is a busy day at the Great Salt Lake Marina If you have recreation plans for the morning hours at the marina you may want to postpone them until afternoon. Tomorrow is the day we do the Safety and Great Salt Lake Orientation Clinic for the Brine Shrimp Industry. This clinic will include Life Flight Landing Zones and Evacuation. This will entail bringing a Life Flight helicopter into the marina which will complicate parking in the south parking lot to some degree. The marina will remain open during this time to regular traffic but you may find parking issues somewhat crowded. This is a mandatory clinic for all participants in the brine shrimp industry. Since this is the first year it has been hosted here and to this degree we just don't know how this will disrupt the regular use of the marina. You should have no problems getting to the docks or your boats though. This clinic will be focused on the brine shrimp harvest, boating safety, the Safe Harbor concept for all marinas on the lake, the current status of all marinas on the lake, fall and winter weather, storms, waves, life flight landing zones and evacuation procedures, Mayday procedure and radio use. As a GSL Marina user you are welcome to attend. There may be some valuable information for your recreation or Great Salt Lake interests. But please realize that the focus of this clinic is to serve the brine shrimpers that are about to begin their season. The clinic runs from 8:30am to 12:30pm. After that, the marina should return to its normal kayos. For those that are concerned about brine shrimpers operating out of the Great Salt Lake Marina, do not worry. This is not going to happen. Nor is this the purpose of the meeting. We just happen to be the closest marina on "Neutral Ground" that have the facilities to handle this clinic for the brine shrimp industry. Thank you, for your understanding and cooperation. Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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TRASH
by GSL Harbormaster 24 Sep '08

24 Sep '08

Is there any knowledge about the beer bottles, old red beat-up hose, chairs, battery box and dock lines left at the end of 'K' dock? Namely near my slip, Breck Jensen's slip, Rob Peterson's slip? These people have been out of town and are not responsible for the mess left in front of their slips. If you are going to use someones empty slip, please ask first. And clean up after yourselves. If you are missing any of these items they will be in the dumpster. Thanks Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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Lake Level - Good News
by GSL Harbormaster 24 Sep '08

24 Sep '08

Lake Level Report Current Level 4192.2 Trend: STEADY The good news is that the lake has started to steady off over the last few weeks. This may mean that we are almost bottomed out for the year. Over the last four years, the most we have dropped between September 24th and the years low is .2 feet. At the current level of 4192.2 that would put us at 4192 - a whopping .3 feet above the low predicted for the year. If you are getting out of the Great Salt Lake Marina now, you may be able to get out all winter. Historically we start coming up by Thanksgiving. Starting October 1st we will start the GREAT SALT LAKE WATER WATCH and will give weekly reports on lake level, direct precipitation, and snowpack. Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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Low Water Boil
by Teresa Sowles 23 Sep '08

23 Sep '08

Thank you Suzan and all your helpers for providing a wonderful social on Saturday, great food and fun! Teresa

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Navigation Notice NN 2008009
by Dave Shearer 17 Sep '08

17 Sep '08

Navigation Notice Issued by the Great Salt Lake State Marina Navigation Notice: NN 2008009 Subject: Eardley Spit & Miera Spit Buoys Dated: September 17, 2008 Status: Active Section 1 Eardley Spit Warning buoy has been serviced and placed back in position. This buoy is a white Danger buoy. It now has a white flashing light blinking every one second (fl w 1"). Coordinates of this buoy are N 40d 44.513' x W 112d 17.899 Section 2 Miera Spit Warning buoy has been serviced and placed back in position. This buoy is a white Danger buoy. It now has a white flashing light blinking every one second (fl w 1"). Coordinates of this buoy are N 40d 52.189' x W 112d 15.000' Section 3 Navigation Notice NN 2008008 has been rescinded in its entirety Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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Quagga & Zebra Mussels
by GSL Harbormaster 17 Sep '08

17 Sep '08

GSL Slip Renters and Marina Users Furtunately, Quagga and Zebra mussels are not of a concern to Great Salt Lake Users. They cannot live in our lake. Nor can they be transferred from our lake to others. (just another species who could care less about this body of water). But it appears other Utah lakes may be visited by these very invasive mussels very soon. DWR recently tested 60 bodies of water in Utah and had three positive hits. This does not mean that these three bodies of water will develop full blown mussel problems but it is possible. Zebra and quagga mussels are the only freswhater bivalves in North American that encrust hard surfaces. They are invasive species from the Black and Caspian Sea Drananges in Eurasia. They may be microscopic or up to two inches long. They commonly have alternating lightr and dark stripes, hence the common name "Zebra" mussels. They usually attach in clusters and have razor-sharp shells that can cut your hands and feet. If your boat has been in infested waters, it could be carrying invasive mussels. the primary way that these mussels can spread to new habitats is on boats trailered by the public or by commercial haulers. an adult female zebra mussel can release up to 1,000,000 eggs EACH SEASON. Utah Division of Wildlife Resources along with USFWS are hosting the Colorado River Basin team meeting at Utah's Department of Natural Resources on October 7th, 2008. The meeting will be in auditoriums 1040-1060. 1594 W. North Temple. Bsides the normal folks who attend, Parks would like to invite members of our community who are representatives of the sport diver groups, SAILBOAT groups, KAYAK and SCULLER groups. Please encourage folks you know who are associated with these groups to attend. Their groups have potential to inadvertently spread quagga and zebra mussels, and they could help out in the control of those invasive species. Although most of you primarily boat in the Great Salt Lake, some of you do transport your boats elsewhere. Your boat may become contaminated and damaged before returning to GSL. Or you may inadvertently transport mussels from one lake to another. So this may be of interest to you. Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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Marina Event - Limited Parking
by GSL Harbormaster 17 Sep '08

17 Sep '08

GSL Slip Renters and Marina Users Great Salt Lake State Marina and the Great Salt Lake Ecosystem Program are hosting a large event at the Great Salt Lake Marina Thursday, September 25. This is a mandatory meeting for employees of the Brine Shrimp industry. The meeting will also include bringing the Life Flight helicopter into the marina. Due to the mandatory attendance for shrimpers and and the need to clear a landing zone for the helicopter, parking in the maring will be limited on that day. This is primarily a morning event and parking should be back to normal by 1pm. If you do not need to be in the marina between 8am and 1pm you may want to postpone your activities. If you must be here or choose to use the marina, we may ask that you park in the north parking lot. Thank you, for your understanding. Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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MAYDAY
by GSL Harbormaster 17 Sep '08

17 Sep '08

GSL Slip Renters and Marina Users. We picked up a MAYDAY call this afternoon on the VHF radio. At the time of this writing we are still trying to ascertain the nature of this call. But here are two vital points of this MAYDAY call. The first point is where the caller failed to get vital information out. The second point is why VHF Marine Band is so much more successful than cell phone. Point One. The caller transmitted "MAYDAY MAYDAY, 16 16, CAN YOU HERE ME?" This was transmitted over and over for nearly ten minutes. Even after several attempts from three different marina's to respond to this call, none of us were successful. If you are ever in trouble and need to make a MAYDAY call it is very important to get as much information out as quick as possible. You may not be able to here anyone responding to you but that does not mean they cannot hear you. Don't waste valuable time trying to make contact before transmitting vital information. This information would be: 1. Your Vessel Name 2. Color or descriptors of your vessel 3. Location of the vessel 4. Nature of the distress 5. Number of people on board 6. Any medical condition of people on board After you make this call wait a minute for a response. If you do not get a response, repeat the message again. If the caller had transmitted this vital information, proper help would be enroute to his location much more quickly. Point Two. This is a great reason why VHF Marine Band is so valuable in maritime applications and why cell phones are so limited. First of all, cell phone coverage is very poor on the Great Salt Lake. And because of the lakes remoteness and geography, it is not likely to improve. Second, when using a cell phone, only one person can here you (if you are able to get ahold of someone). In this case, several people were listening when the mayday call came through. And the number of listeners increased rapidly after the initial call. We were able to get people all over the lake to monitor VHF 16 after the initial call. This puts eyes, ears, and resources much closer to a vessel in distress much more rapidly than a cell phone can. Unfortunately we do not know how this will turn out yet. Because of the lack of information by the caller, we were only able to eliminate possibilities but not solve the nature of the call. Hopefully this has turned out well for the party in distress. Disclaimer: Spell Check was not used during the creation of this message. Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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Christening postponed
by GSL Harbormaster 16 Sep '08

16 Sep '08

For those that may have been planning on attending tomorrow's christening of the "Bonneville", this event has been postponed. As soon as I have the new date I post it. Thanks Dave Shearer Harbormaster Great Salt Lake Marina Have you checked your docklines lately?

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