As St. Vincent and the Grenadines continues to mourn the loss of 6 nationals at sea who are presumed dead. Let us come together with a comprehensive plan for our fishermen.
- Set up a registry for all boats
- A GPS tracking system for all boats (with a portable compass)
- Emergency kits
- Life jackets for each person in the boat
- Communication system for all boats with portable radios
- Training
- Direct link to Coastguard Base
There can be more to this initial project, but there must be a starting point which will improve from time to time. My fellow Island men do not wait on the Government to start this project, Get together and make the first move. The Paget Farm Community center will be the best place to start and set up this project. The Communications tower at the Police can be used to install the antennas for the project.
Set up radio bases in Mystique, Canouan, Mayreau, and Union Island with the Base Station in Paget Farm Bequia. This service will put to ease the minds of families when their loved ones leaves the shores to earn a living.
FUNCTION:
- Boats will call the BASE and give the registration number
- Number of crew and names
- Report number of life jackets
- Destinations
- Any other information that is of importance
All information must be recorded in a Log for that purpose which will be checked periodically by the Coastguard or the Police. Recording correct information is very important.
With the GPS on each boat you will be able to track each registered boat location on a monitor.
We are loosing to many of our men at sea which can be avoided only if we think safety.
Sir Godfrey Gregg
