Out with the old, In with the new!

Its Thursday morning , after an early Wednesday evening of VERY unsettled weather!  We had over seven (7) Tornado warnings around the lake area yesterday evening with several (unconfirmed) funnel sightings!  I scooted out @ around 5:30 p.m. to give a quick jump start and escort for a 27ft SeaRay bowrider with 5 souls aboard.  Got them in to dock and I high tailed it for the barn and made it in just as the first storm hit.  (You gotta go out, You don't gotta come back - -)  (A "back in the day" USCG motto) - -

Back in January of this year, Doug Gould,  posted an article about what the new Future Mariner Credential might look like - - Well it looks like it has come to pass, at least on the West Coast - - See this Bitter End post.

The "TEST" you CAN'T study for - -

As you may or may not know, USCG Licensed Assistance Towing providers are regulated and MUST meet certain standards, not the least of which is being enrolled in a USCG approved and regulated Random Drug Screen program.  Myself and all the captains and crewmen who operate for Lake Tow LLC / TOWBOATU.S. Lake of the Ozarks are members of the "Maritime Consortium", this national consortium handles all the reporting and USCG compliance paperwork for us for an annual fee, which includes notification that you have been selected to take a random drug screen test and must report to your regulated and approved "collection" site to provide a sample - no excuses, no waivers, NO BULL - -.  You have 1 business day to report with your notification paperwork and chain of custody to the collection site, empty your pockets, remove your hat and so forth and provide a sample which is then forwarded to the MRO for testing.  I currently have 5 members including myself enrolled under Lake Tow and late Monday afternoon, myself and another of my captains received a "Greetings" Please pass GO and WE'RE gonna collect something besides the $200 - -!!  So bright and early on Tuesday morning, we made the short trip to our "collection" site and submitted the "sample" - - .  Pretty painless and I believe in this day and age it is a necessary thing!  

Couple of interesting items to view

Capt Doug Gould's Blog, "Red Right Returning", has a couple of interesting posts -  A possible sneak peak in to the future - what the new Mariner's License might look like  - click here to read the article.  I also liked his "Boat Ballet", it features a big sister boat to our "Point Young".  The "dancer" is the M/V "Safe Sea Block Island", a 33 ft RAIV, with twin Yanmar 370 diesels and Hamilton Jets, built by ALMAR Boats of Tacoma, WA.  Capt Gould performed the "dance" to demonstrate the amazing maneuverability of these vessels  - and yeah - "don't need no stinkin bow thrusters - -!"