Behind the Buoy

Boat/US Magazine, March, 2002

It is often said that there is an upside to every downside and most every cloud has a silver lining. There's also much to be said for being in the right place at the right time and this time, the U.S. Coast Guard's ship may have finally come in.

After years of scrounging for incremental increases in its operating budget from its parent agency, the U.S. Department of Transportation, as well as being loaded down with more and more responsibilities by Congress without any commensurate increase in funding, the Coast Guard may be finally getting some help.

The Bush Administration's war on terrorism has, over the past six months, exposed this nation's 361 major ports and waterways as America's "soft underbelly."

Billions of dollars of uninspected cargo destined for America's consumers are off-loaded each day at America's ports and hundreds of foreign vessels go in and out with only the most cursory of inspections. This security risk has now been deemed entirely unacceptable.

To fill this security breach, the Administration and the Congress are turning to the Coast Guard and this time, no one expects the Coast Guard to simply salute and say, "Yes, sir, we'll make do with what we have." This time, the Coast Guard should get a hefty share of the billions of dollars that will be spent on "homeland security."

For years, BoatU.S. has gone to bat for the Coast Guard's budget and at times we have felt like few were listening. All that should now change.

The Coast Guard should be given funds to thoroughly overhaul its antiquated communications system, which has been found so wanting in recent years, most tragically with the case of the ill-fated Morning Dew (see page 10).

The thin blue line along our coasts is thinner than most people know. The Coast Guard should get funds to significantly expand the number of men and women in uniform, which is now below the manpower levels in place 30 years ago. Few people realize that the New York City Police Department has more people in uniform than the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard should be given more funds to train, house and generally lift the standard of living of its officers and enlisted men and women.

The Coast Guard should also be given a boatload of money to replace many of its aging vessels which have long outlasted their expected life span.

Above all, the Coast Guard should be given a promise of substantially increased funding over an extended period of at least five and perhaps 10 years' duration.

A steady stream of new funds over an extended period of time will enable the Coast Guard to rebuild itself to meet the foreseeable challenges of the 21st century, rather than simply the challenge of the moment.

All of these things should happen if the system in Washington, particularly the Congressional appropriations process, works the way it should.

Recreational boat owners can help the Coast Guard seize the moment by exercising the influence that only the recreational boating community can command -- at least on paper.

With thousands of recreational boats on the water for every commercial vessel, the recreational boating community is by far the Coast Guard's largest constituency. We should start acting as such.

We should tell our representatives in Washington that the Coast Guard is overworked, undermanned and underfunded and that this situation has to change, especially in light of the events of September 11.

The Congressional budget process is now underway and your representatives are waiting to hear from you. To find their name and address go to BoatUS.com, click on Government Affairs and then go to "Contact Your Legislator."

Send your representatives a brief personal note letting them know that the Coast Guard needs a substantial increase in funding to do all of the jobs they are expected to do. Ask them to let you know what they are willing to do to help.

If every BoatU.S. member took just 15 minutes out of their life to make this effort, I guarantee you the Coast Guard's funding fortunes would change, literally overnight.

Richard Schwartz, Founder

Michael G. Sciulla, Editor