Virginia Saltwater Fishing

The Coast Guard base on Chincoteague Island is scheduled to host an event for mariners to come and meet locally based federal and state law enforcement officers March 10 at 6:30 p.m.

The event will provide an opportunity for mariners to meet some of their local enforcement officers, ask questions and learn about new and existing regulations.

Regardless of whether mariners operate a commercial, charter, or recreational vessel; subject matter experts will be on hand to answer questions about recreational and commercial fishing, or questions about laws pertaining to safety gear.

Boaters without specific questions are invited to come and listen to the discussion or pick up information on Boating Safety, Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety, Fishing Regulations, or to come and schedule a Courtesy Marine Examination.

The following are participating agencies and agency departments:

* U.S. Coast Guard Station Chincoteague

* U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

* U.S. Park Service (NWR)

* Virginia Marine Resources Commission

* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

* U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Boating Safety Instructors and Courtesy Marine Examiners

* U.S. Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads Commercial Fishing Safety Examiners

The session will be held at Tarr Hall, in the Galley Facility, located on the base.

source: USCG press release

Crews at the Coast Guard Long Range Aids to Navigation stations, including the six Alaska-based stations, turned off their domestic signal across the nation at 11 a.m. Monday, February 8, 2010.

The shutdown of the signal concludes the broadcast of the U.S. domestic signal. Stations Attu and Shoal Cove, which are bound by bi-lateral agreements with Russia and Canada, will continue to broadcast their international signals until later this year. All the stations will continue to be maintained and manned as the closure of the facilities proceeds over the coming months. Decommissioning dates have yet to be set and plans for the dismantlement of the stations are in development.

Loran-C was originally developed to provide radio-navigation service for U.S. coastal waters and was later expanded to include complete coverage of the continental U.S. as well as most of Alaska. Twenty-four U.S. Loran-C stations work in partnership with Canadian and Russian

stations to provide coverage in Canadian waters and the Bering Sea. The system provided better than 0.25 nautical mile absolute accuracy for within the published areas and provided navigation, location, and timing services for both civil and military air, land and marine users. It was approved as an en route supplemental air navigation system for both Instrument Flight Rule and Visual Flight Rule operations.

The Loran-C system served the 48 continental states, their coastal areas, parts of Alaska and neighboring countries for 67 years, 8 months and 24 days.

source: USCG press release

Titan Salvage crews successfully pulled the barge La Princesa off Sandbridge beach at 7:48 a.m. Wednesday, November 18, 2009.

The crews used two tugs pulling together on the bow and stern of the barge at high tide to free it. The barge, which broke free from the tug Sentry Thursday night, grounded on the beach near Little Island Pier Friday morning.

Coast Guard, Crowley and Titan Salvage personnel worked together to remove the barge from the beach while ensuring the safety of the public and environment. Coast Guard inspectors and a member of the American Bureau of Shipping will survey the vessel to ensure that it is seaworthy. Once the survey team is satisfied, the tug Sentry will tow the barge to its next port of call in Pennsauken, N.J.

source: USCG press release

The Coast Guard Exchange System has opened a new retail exchange in the Greenbrier retail corridor in Chesapeake Virginia.

The 43,000-square-foot store is located at 1589 Crossways Blvd. in the location previously occupied by Circuit City.

The exchange offers a wide variety of items in all price ranges at savings of 20-45% off mall prices. Popular categories offering savings to customers will include cosmetics, electronics, apparel, appliances, and sporting goods. Brands such as Sony, Bose, Sharp, Michael Kors, Tag Heuer, Oakley, Under Armour, Quicksilver, Polo, Nautica, and Kenmore will be available to customers.

The retail stores and many services offered by Coast Guard Exchange System are an added benefit for authorized military customers of all branches as well as Department of Homeland Security employees.

The Fifth Coast Guard District commander has issued a temporary deviation from the regulation governing the operating schedule of the Berkley Bridge across the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River at Norfolk, Va., at the request of the Virginia Department of Transportation.

This deviation will evaluate a change in the drawbridge’s operating schedule to determine whether a permanent schedule change is needed.

The temporary deviation will be in effect from Oct. 9, 2009, through March 9, 2010. During this time, the drawbridge will open to vessels requesting passage at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. At all other times, the bridge will operate as scheduled. A Notice of Proposed Rule Making for a 3-year deviation plan lasting until Oct. 5, 2012 is also being considered.

The Virginia Department of Transportation will have signs in place before Oct. 24, 2009 alerting maritime traffic of these new regulations. Beginning Monday, Oct. 19, motorists should prepare for scheduled stops at the I-264/I-464 Berkley Bridge at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. The duration of the traffic stops will be dependent on the volume of maritime traffic.

Interested parties are requested to express their views, in writing, on the temporary deviation from the operating regulations. Comments will be received for the record at:

Commander (dpb)

Fifth Coast Guard District

431 Crawford St.

Portsmouth, Va., 23704

Written comments on this proposal must be submitted on or before Dec. 8, 2009.

A copy of the Docket USCG-2009-0754 published in the Federal Register on Oct, 9, is available to be viewed by the public on their website.

For further questions on this proposed rule or copies of Public Notice 5-1158 which describes the deviation schedule in detail, call Waverly Gregory, bridge administrator for the Fifth Coast Guard District, at (757) 398-6222 or e-mail at Waverly.W.Gregory@uscg.mil.

source: USCG press release

The Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Hampton Roads advises all local mariners and vessel operators that scheduled repairs to the Gilmerton Lift Bridge fendering system will result in restricted operation October 2 through 12.

The repairs will replace the temporary fenders that have been in place since the tug Steve McAllister allided with the bridge Aug. 13, damaging the west-side fendering system.

The repairs will replace the temporary fendering system which has been in place since the allision.

During the restricted operating times, the drawbridge will open once every two hours, on the hour, which will allow recreational and passenger vessels to pass.

The drawbridge will be opened upon request at any time by piloted vessels, but will require a two-hour advance notification to the drawbridge operator, who can be reached at (757) 545-1512.

Restricted operations are scheduled to occur:

* 8 p.m. Oct. 2 through 5 a.m. Oct. 5
* Oct. 5 through Oct. 8 from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. each night.
* Oct. 9, 2009 from 8 p.m. through 5 a.m. Oct. 12.

“The replacement is imperative to the support structure of the bridge,” said Lt. Tiffany Duffy, chief of waterways management at Sector Hampton Roads. “Should a vessel allide with the supports, they could cause significant damage to the stability of the bridge.”

source: USCG press release