Earning your captain's license should be hard

Earning your captain's license should be hard


By Dorie Cox

May 28, 2010

Being a captain on a megayacht is tough, but actually getting the license can prove even tougher. It takes instructional courses, paperwork, time at sea, time away from work and money.

"My guess is, it costs at least $25,000 to get a license," a captain said at this month's Triton From the Bridge captains luncheon.

Captains were invited to discuss obtaining and maintaining licenses and certifications and the future of licensing in the yachting industry. The captains in attendance have varying licenses and levels. Included were MCA, USCG and Royal Yachting Association (RYA) tickets varying in size with experience ranging from several years to several decades in the industry. Each captain had a different course in their licensing story. Read More.

Carp Fishing Tips

Subject: Asian carp sampling effort officially underway

Subject: CYA - Info on Asian Carp


Captain Sonny Lisowski sends the following for your information:

Subject: Asian carp sampling effort officially underway on section of the Little Calumet River
Dear Great Lakes and Chicago Area Waterway System Stakeholder,
You are receiving this email because of your past or current engagement or association with the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS). (note: the attachment can be opened in Internet Explorer.)
The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) is announcing an aggressive monitoring and sampling plan to guide Asian carp control efforts in the CAWS. The plan calls for intensive electofishing and netting; and in some cases the application of a fish toxicant Rotenone. In order to accomplish the plan objectives, it will be necessary to institute temporary closure of certain reaches of CAWS to recreational and navigational use, beginning today (see attached press release). Real-time closure schedules routinely will be posted at http://www.uscg.fishbarrierinfo.com
You can find more information at www.asiancarp.org
Thank you,
Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee

Asian Carp Sampling Effort Officially Underway on Section of the Little Calumet Rive

From: U.S. EPA [mailto:usaepa@govdelivery.com]
Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 11:41 AM
To:
Subject: Water News (Region 5): Asian Carp Sampling Effort Officially Underway on Section of the Little Calumet River

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE           Chris McCloud (217) 785-0075               
May 20, 2010                                     Ashley Spratt (612) 247-297

 Asian Carp Sampling Effort Officially Underway on Section of the Little Calumet River
                                 
          Uplink Satellite Coordinates Below

CHICAGO, IL - A five-mile section of the Little Calumet River in South Chicago is now closed to all traffic for a period of four to six days as sampling efforts for Asian carp get underway. The closure is necessary for biologists to safely and effectively apply the fish toxicant Rotenone to a more than two-mile stretch of the waterway at T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam as a part of ongoing Asian carp sampling efforts by the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC).
The length and location of the application and fish removal area was chosen to maximize the opportunity to capture Asian carp by including a variety of habitats along a substantial length of river channel that has had a high frequency of positive eDNA detections.
 
In addition to the Rotenone action, simultaneous electrofishing and commercial netting will take place between the downstream block net and Acme Bend. Electrofishing and netting will allow for an expansion of the area sampled and a comparison of conventional methods with Rotenone sampling.
 
The waterway will be treated in one day, and the fish recovery phase of the operation will last for four to five days. During that time, the FWS, IDNR, and other participating agencies will aim to recover as many fish in the application area as possible to determine the abundance and type of fish present in the treated area.
The toxicant will eradicate Asian carp and other fish in the canal, but does not present a risk to people or other wildlife when used properly.
To meet the requirements of the Rotenone label, during the operation, people should NOT:
• Swim or recreate in the treatment area
• Catch or eat fish found in the treatment area
Drinking water in homes near the treatment area is safe. There are no known private wells near the treatment area and the nearest public drinking water system in the direction of flow downstream is over 150 miles away.
During  the  application  and  recovery  phases,  the  U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) will  implement  a  safety  zone from River Mile Post 321.5 to 326.5 to  protect  waterway  users  and  workers  conducting  sampling  operations  in  the vicinity  of  the  O'Brien  Lock. Access  to  the  river  will  be  restricted  for  a  period  of  five  to  seven  days,  meaning  that  boaters  will  not  be  able  to  transit  the  safety  zone  until  sampling  operations  are  completed  and  the  safety  zone  is rescinded  by  the  USCG. The safety  zone  notice  for  this  sampling  is  published  in  the  Federal  Register  and  is  also  posted  online at  http://www.uscg.fishbarrierinfo.com.
Rotenone, a fish toxicant commonly used in fisheries management, was previously used on a six-mile stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal in December of 2009 while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut down the Electric Barrier System for routine maintenance. That effort yielded one Bighead carp caught just above the Lockport Lock and Powerhouse approximately six miles downstream of the electric barrier. No Asian carp have been found above the electric barrier to date.
Knowledge of the population size and location of possible Asian carp in CAWS is important data that will inform biologists and decision makers on selecting and prioritizing appropriate future actions to keep Asian carp from moving into Lake Michigan.
Further details on implementation of this new sampling and monitoring plan is  detailed in the updated Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework,  released in May 2010, on http://www.asiancarp.org
The RCC includes representatives from the City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.
These partners and others are working to address the threat Asian carp pose to the Great Lakes through the development and implementation of the Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework.
The Framework, which is guided by the latest scientific research, is expected to encompass more than two dozen short- and long-term actions and up to $78.5 million in federal investments to combat the spread of Asian carp. The full framework is available for viewing at http://www.asiancarp.org.
SATELLITE COORDINATES:
Slug: Asian Carp Rotenone Event 2
Date: 5/20/10
Time: 3:00 PM (CT) – 3:15 PM (CT)
Satellite: AMC 15KU
Transponder: 01
Slot: A-9
Downlink Frequency: 11706.5
Downlink Polarization: V
Bandwidth: 9 MHz
Symbol Rate: 3.978729
FEC:  3 / 4
Data Rate: 5.5
For technical assistance please call The Illinois Information Service at 217.785.5499.

Note: If a link above doesn't work, please copy and paste the URL into a browser.

View all Region 5 news releases

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You can view or update your subscriptions or e-mail address at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. All you will need is your e-mail address. If you have any questions or problems e-mail support@govdelivery.com for assistance.  This service is provided to you at no charge by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

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Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202

NOTICE: 63rd St. Beach Project - May 20th 2010

To: ChicagoYachting@aol.com

A message from Lt. Piazza, Commander                                                                                          Chicago Police Marine & Helicopter Unit

Please note,

On Thursday, May 20, the Chicago Park District will be working with researchers from the United States Geological Survey to map the water currents at 63^rd Street Beach.  This work involves the use of a bright red non-toxic dye that will be put into the water early in the morning.  The bright color will remain throughout the day.  The dye is not harmful to people or wildlife, and it will fade within a couple of days. The beach is not yet open for swimming on this date, and boat traffic will not be restricted in any way.  

 Please share this information with anyone that you think may be interested.

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Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee Announces Three‐Month Monitoring and Sampling Plan

Asian Carp
Regional Coordinating
Committee

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Mike Stevens (217) 785‐007
May 5, 2010	Ryan Aylesworth (612) 713‐5311

City of Chicago
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
Great Lakes Fishery Commission
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Indiana Department of Natural Resources

Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee Announces Three‐Month Monitoring and Sampling Plan

The Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (RCC) is announcing its latest monitoring and sampling plan to guide Asian carp control efforts in the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS).

“This sampling plan will provide us with important data needed to make future decisions,” said John Rogner, Assistant Director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. “Keeping Asian carp from establishing a population in Lake Michigan remains our ultimate goal and we think this new monitoring plan will help us achieve our objectives.”

“These new monitoring efforts will help us make the most strategic decisions for keeping Asian carp from becoming established in the Great Lakes,” said Charlie Wooley, Deputy Regional Director of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). “The new monitoring plan will provide the quantitative information necessary to determine the most successful control methods for Asian carp, if they are present in the area.”

To date, the Regional Coordinating Committee’s efforts have focused on monitoring and sampling the CAWS to determine whether positive hits of Asian carp environmental DNA (eDNA) found in multiple locations upstream of the electric barrier indicate the presence of Asian carp. Traditional sampling techniques including gillnetting and electrofishing did not yield the capture of any Asian carp in areas surveyed during the initial six week sampling period.

Based on the eDNA tests, the new sampling and monitoring plan will take those traditional fishing methods to the North Shore Channel where a three
day sampling effort using electrofishing gear and commercial fishing nets will be used in an attempt to locate Asian carp. The operation will require the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to close a portion of the North Shore Channel starting on Tuesday, May 11 and will reopen the morning of Friday, May 14. The area targeted for sampling extends ¼ mile south of Oakton Street‐ approximately five miles north to the Wilmette Pumping Station. The North Shore Channel is almost exclusively used by paddlers because of its shallow depths and not navigable to most commercial and recreational boats.

The new plan also calls for a rotenone sampling operation upstream of the electric barriers near the O’Brien Lock and Dam to determine whether‐ and if so, how many‐ Asian carp might exist in that location where positive eDNA samples have been taken.

The planned application and subsequent fish recovery will begin with waterway closure on Thursday, May 20 and last five to six days. The application will take place on the Little Calumet River approximately one mile downstream of T.J. O’Brien Lock and Dam, east of the I‐94 overpass, and will cover a stretch of two miles downstream of the starting location. The waterway will be treated in one day, and the recovery phase of the operation will last between four to five days. During that time, the FWS, IDNR, and other participating agencies will aim to recover as many fish in the application area as possible to determine the abundance and type of fish present in the treated area.

The toxicant will eradicate Asian carp and other fish in the canal, but does not present a risk to people or other wildlife when used properly.

During the application and recovery phases, the USCG will implement a safety zone to protect waterway users and workers conducting sampling operations in the vicinity of the O'Brien Lock. Access to the canal will be restricted for a period of five to seven days, meaning that boaters will not be able to transit the safety zone until sampling operations are completed and the safety zone is rescinded by the U.S. Coast Guard. Any safety zone notice for these sampling operations will be published in the federal register and will also be posted online at http://www.uscg.fishbarrierinfo.com.

The Monitoring Plan has several objectives with an overall goal of preventing Asian carp from establishing self‐sustaining populations in the Great Lakes including:

• Determine the distribution and abundance of Asian carp in the CAWS, if they are present.
• Establish parameters of acceptable risk and determine our current risk level.
• Remove Asian carp in the CAWS to a level below what is considered an acceptable risk.
• Determine the leading edge of major Asian carp populations and reproduction.

Rotenone, a fish toxicant commonly used in fisheries management, was previously used on a six mile stretch of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal in December of 2009 while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers shut down the Electric Barrier System for routine maintenance. That effort yielded one Bighead carp caught just above the Lockport Lock and Powerhouse approximately six miles downstream of the Electric barrier. No Asian carp have been found above the electric barrier to date.

Knowledge of the population size and location of possible Asian carp in CAWS is critical data that will inform biologists and decision makers on selecting and prioritizing appropriate actions to keep Asian carp from moving into Lake Michigan.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continues to report eDNA results through the RCC’s multi‐agency http://asiancarp.org Web site.

The RCC includes representatives from the City of Chicago, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Fishery Commission, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

These partners are working to address the threat Asian carp pose to the Great Lakes through the development and implementation of the Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework. The Framework, which is guided by the latest scientific research, is expected to encompass more than two dozen short‐ and long‐term actions and up to $78.5 million in investments to combat the spread of Asian carp.

For up to date information about the efforts of the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee please see an updated version of the Asian Carp Control Strategy Framework now available at http://www.asiancarp.org/

Tookey's Run to the South, Part 5

Tookey's Run to the South: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Al impressed me with his grasp of he mechanical operation of the boat, and seemed to be able to puzzle out the design and operations of the engine room.   I would be expected to know about these things because I built them, but for him to come up with an understanding bespoke of a good mechanical aptitude.   He was very helpful, and willing throughout all the time he could stay with us.  

Bill Lavery, was a boater with experience in the Power Squadrons and the Coast Guard Axillary, and also was excellent cook.  Unbelievable, the meals he was able to put together while underway.   Boy is that important!  He was an excellent crew member. 

Also very helpful was Jim Bryan.   In addition to being a sail-boater, Jim also had experience as a deck officer in the merchant marine during WW2.   So his advice and presence was very helpful.

Enough digression! 

More to come.   

Here's a link to the cached classified ad for the boat.

Tookey's Run to the South, Part 4

Tookey's Run to the South: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

It strikes me on rereading this that it would probably not be of consuming interest to the general reader, but is probably written to interest those who are boaters contemplating a voyage such as this.   While it seems that there were many problems, it mus be remember that this in effect was the shake down voyage.  If  I was told once, it seems I was told a hundred times, it would have been better to put the boat in the lake in summer and run it around for a couple of months before starting out.   I knew that!  However, weather and other things always got in the way of the launching.  So, one does what one can!

After this rather lengthy delay were were ready to start the trek again on Sunday, October 20th, 1990, when we departed Hamm's Holiday Marina at 0900.   Fog held us up until this time.   The crew was Al Nurszyk, my nephew, Bill Lavery of Fairhope, Alabama, and Jim Bryan who joined us from Coldwater, Michigan for the trip down.   Managed to make it out of the marina and in to the main channel without incident.    Passed right over the Peoria dam as the lock-master said the wickets were down, so we skipped the lock-through.  There was quite a little barge traffic, but Peoria Lake is wide and the channel is well buoyed.   A word about the tow boat pilots - they are extremely helpful, or at least were to me and other pleasure craft I was aware of.   They advise meeting and passing directions.   It is be to do what they suggest.   While it is a little scary to cross over in front of the barges coming towards you, to meet them on 2 whistles; with enough forewarning there is no problem.   The tows are normally about 3 wide and 5 long, though one we saw on the Ohio, I think,  was 5 wide and 6 long.  Very intimidating, when one considers the millions of pounds of cargo they are pushing through the water.   There is no way they can maneuver the front ends of the line of barges, so they when they round a bend they put the front end where they want it and swing the stern end around to lin the load up in the new direction.   I found the best way in the beginning to find out what to do was to call them, identify yourself and then by river position, and ask what to do.   Normally this could be done when they were still about a mile away.   For the last week and a half, because of experience, were were able to dispense with the radio traffic and point to a course where  you know was the most logical and so we could meet without a lot of chatter.   I'm sure they appreciated this as they must be a lot busier then we were considering the load difference.

The Lock-masters are also very helpful to pleasure vessels.  As it turned out, I found the best way to negotiate the locks was to call it about one hour out and give them an ETA and ask their advice.   This allows them to adjust their pass-thrus to maximize efficiency.   They will try to pass as many vessels through they can at a time.

The weater was cold, in fact it was chilly and cold all of the trip wht the exception of the last 2 days.  Generally, we had an 8 mph win in our faces all trip.

It was also cold at night.   When we tied up at a marinas where there was shore-side power, the crew in the main cabin had the advantage of a little cube heater. Great piece of equipment, these ceramic cube heaters.   Kept the main cabin at 70 f.  The rear cabin depended on blankets.  Another cube heater is indicated, for the future.  

 

More to post as time permits for this chapter.