James Dicks releases an an innovative method of saving lives on the water through USFloatPlan

March 3, 2009 - PRLog -- Every year, thousands of boaters find themselves in need of rescue on the nation’s waterways.  Many times, friends and family members do not even know where these mariners plan to travel or, equally as important, when they planned to return. Unlike aviators who are required to file flight plans before they take off, boaters have not had the same requirements or, until recently, the tools to do so.  James Dicks, President/CEO of PremiereTec Solutions LLC, has developed an automated, web-based system that boaters can use to file a “float plan” before getting underway. The recent story about missing boaters off the Gulf Coast in Florida, which includes two NFL players, has received quite a bit of attention over the past few days and hits home to many Floridians.  

Dicks recently spoke to the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard, MCPOG C.W. Bowen, who said the current search and rescue operation is all too common.  Bowen explained, “I've spent my entire Coast Guard career working cases just like this one and I agree, leaving an accurate float plan is one of the most important things a boater can do to improve safety. People do not understand that it is different on the water. If your car breaks down on land, in most instances, it will not be life threatening. But on the water - even if you’re close to shore - human beings cannot live long without a vessel or some other form of flotation. If a boater gets into trouble, the quicker they can get help the better. The ocean is huge. If searchers have to comb too large an area it makes finding the search object very difficult and sometimes impossible. Float plans work!”

Dicks said he worked with a 21-year Coast Guard veteran who helped him develop the blueprint for USFloatPlan. Dicks said, “The Coast Guard said it didn't even receive a distress call from these missing boaters. That’s sad. In this particular case, it took a day before the Coast Guard began searching due to the delay in notification as well as pinpointing an accurate location to begin.  A float plan can be put into action literally hours after an overdue arrival is realized.”  

In the event that a search and rescue operation becomes necessary, authorities will have a more accurate idea of where to begin looking. Float plans decrease the search area and the search time, thus saving lives, as well as search and rescue dollars.  But because the Coast Guard didn’t have a precise area to begin their search in this most recent incident, they had to cover some 16,000 miles of water.  The use of a structured float plan would have helped pinpoint the last location of the missing boaters and could have narrowed the time of the search and rescue operation.

Dicks said he wants to make sure all boaters who go offshore realize that it only takes a few minutes to file a float plan on www.USFloatPlan.com.  He said, “It is easy and it is free and can make the difference between rescue or recovery. I urge everyone who spends any time on the nation’s waterways to get into the habit of using the USFloatPlan.  It can save lives and critical time when, and if, the time comes to begin a search operation.  Our wish is that USFloatPlan never has to be used, but, as we’ve recently seen, reality tells us that it will be. We can only hope that when it is needed, it will assist rescue personnel in their search for those in potential danger.”

PremiereTec Solutions LLC .  It provides business solutions through technology utilizing years of institutional memory in all aspects of operations and development.