Most of us are familiar with the Amber Alert and Senior Alert programs for missing children and seniors. That concept has now been extended for missing boaters and kayakers under a new program in Florida called Aqua Alert. While boaters hear distress calls and Coast Guard broadcasts over VHF Ch 16, the Aqua Alert expands that information to anyone with a mobile phone who has the Aqua Alert App downloaded and the Aqua Alert notification turned on. Most everyone has a smartphone; and if you’re in range of cell coverage, more eyes and ears will be on the water in the case of an emergency.

The program is the collaborative effort between the City of Destin, Florida and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and County Commissioners. The new Aqua Alert notifies people in Okaloosa County of missing boaters in the hope that they will be able to assist authorities in locating those missing at sea or within the harbors. The notification goes out through the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. The OCSO’s Official Aqua Alert App is free and available at Apple’s App Store and Google Play.

The Aqua Alert concept came about when 61-year-old David Schink disappeared while kayaking near Destin Harbor. Despite being a collegiate swimmer and experienced kayaker, only his kayak and a broken paddle were found but not David. At the time of the incident, there were over 150 fish boats in the area not counting private craft. David’s wife Judy and son Dan feel there would have been a better chance of recovering David if more boaters had been alerted or aware of the situation.

The program is currently only active in Okaloosa County. The hope is that similar alert systems in neighboring States will be implemented, and possibly even on a national scale. House Bill 8541, the Aqua Alert Act, was offered as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act by Congressman Dean Phillips and is proceeding through the House. U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal is advocating for Aqua Alert in the Senate. If the bill passes, the U.S. Coast Guard would implement pilot programs per the bill: “to direct the Commandant of the Coast Guard to establish a pilot program to improve the issuance of alerts to facilitate cooperation with the public to render aid in distressed individuals under section 521 of title 14, United State Code, and for other purposes.”

Photo: Destin Harbor, Wikipedia