CLICK HERE to listen to episode audio (4:05).
Transcript of audio, notes on the audio, images, and additional information follow below.
All Web addresses mentioned were functional as of 5-26-17.
TRANSCRIPT OF AUDIO
From the Cumberland Gap to the Atlantic Ocean, this is Virginia Water Radio for the week of May 29, 2017.
MUSIC – ~9 sec
This week, music by a Nelson County- and Charlottesville, Va.-based band, vividly reminds us that water has great power, but also complete indifference, over human concerns. Have a listen for about 35 seconds.
MUSIC - ~35 sec
You’ve been listening to part of “Dirty Sea,” by Chamomile and Whiskey, on the 2013 album “Wandering Boots,” from County Wide Records. Far from a place of romance or inspiration, the sea in this song has no sympathy for you—if it swallows you, you “won’t be the first.”
That stark image underlines what’s at stake in the annual National Safe Boating Week, which in 2017 ran from May 20-26. For that event, the National Safe Boating Council, the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Weather Service, and many other partners increase their efforts to educate boaters on how to stay safe on the water. This year the Safe Boating Council and the Weather Service have a safety lesson for each day of Safe Boating Week, covering these seven topics: distress-signal equipment, marine forecasts, life jackets, boating under the influence, fire extinguishers, thunderstorm safety, and hurricane preparedness.
In Virginia, getting that kind of boating information is the law for motorized boat operators: completion of a boating-safety course is required for personal water craft operators aged 14 or over, and for all operators of motorized boats of 10 horsepower of more. As of 2015, Virginia had over 230,000 registered motor boats, along with thousands of canoes, sailboats, and other non-motorized boats. If you plan to be in one of these vessels—whether on foamy, flat, or flowing water—please make sure that you know how to have a safe voyage: be prepared, be sensible, and wear a life jacket!
Thanks to Chamomile and Whiskey for permission to use this week’s music, and we close with a few more seconds of “Dirty Sea.”
MUSIC - ~14 sec
SHIP’S BELL
For more Virginia water sounds, music, and information, visit us online at virginiawaterradio.org, or call us at (540) 231-5463. Virginia Water Radio is produced by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center, part of Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Thanks to Stewart Scales for his banjo version of Cripple Creek to open and close the show. In Blacksburg, I’m Alan Raflo, thanking you for listening, and wishing you health, wisdom, and good water.
AUDIO NOTES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
"Dirty Sea” and “Wandering Boots” are copyright by Chamomile and Whiskey and by County Wide Records, used with permission of Chamomile and Whiskey. More information about Chamomile and Whiskey is available online at http://www.chamomileandwhiskey.com/, and information about Charlottesville-based County Wide Records is available online at http://countywidemusic.worldsecuresystems.com/.
This episode is a revised repeat Episode 214, 5-19-14, for Safe Boating Week 2014; that episode has been archived.
Click here if you’d like to hear the full version (1 min./11 sec.) of the “Cripple Creek” arrangement/performance by Stewart Scales that opens and closes this episode. More information about Mr. Scales and the group New Standard, with which Mr. Scales plays, is available online at http://newstandardbluegrass.com.
PHOTOS
Take a little quiz on this week's episode: In which situation shown below are boating safety and a life jacket necessary?
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| High winds and waves on the Chesapeake Bay, looking south from Kent Island, Md., February 25, 2011. |
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| Kayaker on flat but deep water in a Dismal Swamp canal, April, 30, 2005. |
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| Tree-debris removal during high water on the Potomac River between Loudoun County, Va., and White’s Ferry, Md., May 12, 2008. |
The answer, of course: all three!
SAFE BOATING WEEK MESSAGE LINKS
Following are links to the seven safe boating public service announcements (audio, video, or text) for each day of National Safe Boating Week 2017 from the National Safe Boating Council and the National Weather Service, online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/safeboating/week.shtml.
Distress Signals (links directly to audio)
Marine Forecast (audio, video, and text)
Life Jackets (audio, video, and text)
Boating Under the Influence (audio and text)
Fire Extinguishers (audio and text)
Thunderstorm Safety (audio, video, and text)
Hurricane Preparedness (audio, video, and text)
SOURCES USED IN AUDIO AND FOR MORE INFORMATION
National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, “Operation Dry Water” Web site, http://www.operationdrywater.org/. See particularly “ODW Campaign,” online at http://www.operationdrywater.org/content.asp?admin=Y&contentid=139.
National Safe Boating Council, online at http://www.safeboatingcouncil.org/. Information on Safe Boating Week is online at http://www.safeboatingcampaign.com/.
U.S. Coast Guard, Boating Safety Division Web site, http://www.uscgboating.org/. The Coast Guard’s annual reports on boating statistics are available online at https://www.uscgboating.org/statistics/accident_statistics.php. The “2015 Boating Recreational Statistics” report is online (as PDF) at https://www.uscgboating.org/library/accident-statistics/Recreational-Boating-Statistics-2015.pdf; Table 38 includes number of registered boats and incidents by state (234,052 registered boats in Virginia in 2015; motorboats only). The Coast Guard’s mobile application for safe boating is online at http://www.uscg.mil/mobile/.
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF), “Boating,” online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating/; and “Boating Safety Education Requirement,” online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/boating/education/requirement/. VDGIF’s “2015 Recreational Boating Incident Summary” is online (as PDF) at https://www.dgif.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2015-boating-incident-report.pdf. The main phone number for VDGIF’s central office in Richmond is (804) 367-1000; contact information for local VDGIF offices is available online at http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/about/offices/.
Virginia Marine Resources Commission/Virginia Marine Police, “Boating Safety,” online at http://www.mrc.virginia.gov/MP/boating_safety.shtm.
National Weather Service/National Safe Boating Council, “Boating Safety Tips and Resources, available online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/os/marine/safeboating/.
RELATED VIRGINIA WATER RADIO EPISODES
All Water Radio episodes are listed by category at the Index link above (http://www.virginiawaterradio.org/p/index.html). See particularly the “Recreation” subject category.
The following previous episodes focused on boating or other water safety:
Episode 111, 5-21-12, for Safe Boating Week 2012, focusing on use of life jackets;
Episode 131, 10-8-12, on dock safety;
Episode 270, 6-15-15, on Operation Dry Water and boating under the influence.
STANDARDS OF LEARNING (SOLs) FOR VIRGINIA TEACHERS
The episode may help with 2013 Music SOLs at various grade levels that call for “examining the relationship of music to the other fine arts and other fields of knowledge.”
This episode may also help with the following 2010 Science SOLs:
Grades K-6 Living Systems Theme
6.7 - natural processes and human interactions that affect watershed systems; Va. watersheds, water bodies, and wetlands; health and safety issues; and water monitoring.
Earth Science Course
ES.10 – ocean processes, interactions, and policies affecting coastal zones, including Chesapeake Bay.
The episode may also help with the following Virginia 2015 Social Studies SOLs, which become effective in the 2017-18 school year:
Civics and Economics Course
CE.1 – social studies skills that responsible citizenship requires.
CE.10 – public policy at local, state, and national levels.
World Geography Course
WG.18 - cooperation among political jurisdictions to solve problems and settle disputes.
Government Course
GOVT.1 – social studies skills that responsible citizenship requires.
GOVT.9 – public policy process at local, state, and national levels.
Virginia’s SOLs are available from the Virginia Department of Education, online at http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/.
