Safety Updates for Cruisers

[Dan Dickison]

How will the events of September 11th affect cruising in the coastal waters of the United States and the Carribean? 

Dan Dickison responds:
Thanks for your question, it's a very appropriate one to ask at this juncture. The US Coast Guard has issued no advisories regarding US coastal waters since several days after the terrorist attacks. We presume that means it's safe to transit the East, West, and Gulf Coasts. Coincidentally, we posted an item in our News section yesterday that discusses the recent additions to the US State Department's list of countries that are considered dangerous destinations for US citizens. The only Caribbean nation for which a warning has been issued is Columbia, and that was issued back in April. That warning will become defunct as of early October. To see this list and other information, log on to this page of the State Department's website: http://travel.state.gov/warnings_list.html. Also be sure to check the US Coast Guard's website at www.uscg.mil.

There's also one other place to check for up-to-date information about cruising in the Caribbean, and that's the Caribbean Maritime Mobile Net, which is really a series of amateur radio broadcasts in which cruisers all around the Caribbean share information regarding destinations in that area. You can find out about the broadcast frequencies and schedules by looking at that group's website: http://www.viaccess.net/~kv4jc/. Here's wishing you safe cruising.