7-26-2018

SEATTLE, Wash. — Help the Coast Guard by labeling your kayak.

The agency is urging owners to write their contact info on any of their personal paddlecraft, like kayaks or canoes.

Every unmanned paddlecraft they find adrift is treated as a potential emergency situation.

Helicopter and boat crews individually search an average of two hours per response, plus an additional four hours of investigation by their command center and 911.

Properly labeled paddlecrafts mean situations are usually resolved quickly.

Stars mark the location of unmanned-adrift paddlecraft reported to Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound personnel since the first of the month, July 24, 2018. Every unmanned-adrift paddlecraft is treated as a potential distress situation, however, when the craft is properly labelled the situation can often be quickly resolved with a phone call to the vessel owner, which minimizes personnel fatigue and negative impacts on crew readiness. U.S. Coast Guard image by Scott Giard.