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Location: Quebec, Canada and Pirates Cove, OBX, NC
Posts: 17,813
Coast Guard Cites Deaf Boater
It is not a question of political correctness . . . it is a question of commopn sense . . . the deaf person should be able to continue boating without a listening person . . . deaf persons are permitted to drive cars . . . and 50% of us can not hear our VHF radios over the noise of our diesels and 2 strokes so half the boating public is deaf . . . and being deaf does not stop him from keeping 100 yds from a ship . . . Lord . . . give us a break
" The only boat without a ding or two, is the one that never gets used!!! "
I'll be a fence rider on this one... I see merit to both sides... and as someone said above... knowing his limitations he is probably safer and more careful than most of us. Let the guy be.... alot more dangerous a-holes on the water than this guy i suspect.
I think you are way out of line and treading on thin ground here. I'm sure you know deaf people are allowed to drive cars. Did you know that deaf people are allowed to fly planes?
Try to stick to the topic. We are not talking about blind people here. Nor are we talking about allowing deaf people to man the VHF at the CG station.
For that matter, what do we do about boaters who don't speak English? The ability to hear and speak into a VHF radio may do them no good, either. Should we round 'em all up and get them off the water?
BTW - Just having a VHF onboard does not obligate you to monitor channel 16. You are only obligated to do so if you decide to turn it on.
I stand by my post. As noted a VHF is not required nor is a lot of other "stuff" we carry on our boats. Up until just a short time ago you couldn't hear crap other than engine noise. Thru hull "mufflers", wind, stereos, ect. the list is long of things any horn must overpower. Let's not forget the mickey mouse horns that some boat builders place on the boat the meet the minimum requirements.
While I am no way a PC type of person, give they guy and the outfit a break. Would you give up your sport if you lost your hearing? You can still drive your cars. Hell, I see people on a regular basis that can't even get out of the way of a fire truck! Now if he screwed up, that's a whole new ball game
Sounds to me like the CG needs to re-examine some of its maritime laws. I feel certain these laws were written before the ADA came into effect. It may take a court challenge to make the necessary changento the CG regs.
If they perceive that he was engaged in commercial activities it makes a difference. You do not always need a commercial license to be determined to be a commercial operation. That requires him to have and monitor Channel 16. The ADA has nothing to do with it. The ADA states that resonable accommodations shall be given to the handicapped. Any judge would agree that telling him to have a person on board that can hear signals is a reasonable request. He was not fined, he was told to cease commercial operations until this could be taken care of.
The what ifs could go on indefinitely, but the main thing is that if he was broke down at night or in a fog, he would not be able to hear a horn. He would not know if his horm was working if the motor vibrations prevented him from feeling the horn vibrations.
The deaf are allowed to drive, but there have been a few incidents where during a police stop, a deaf person has been hurt or could have been hurt due to the inability to communicate. It is one thing to allow a person to place his own life at risk due to his handicaps, it is another to allow him to place others at risk for profit.
Cdog is right. There could be a "what if". Let's just deprive the deaf guy of all operational enjoyments. What the hell let's ban him from boating, driving, flying or whatever the hell gives him personal enjoyment as a human being. Cause god forbid, what if! Sure he might have been conscious of his situation and compensated in other ways, such as being more visually attentive or possess a devise that transcribes voice to text - but we can never be 100% certain. We really should expand on Cdog's logic. For examplem, We should ban all people on wheelchairs from all public buildings. What if there is a fire and we need a quick way out. The guy in a wheel chair might delay / block Cdog's prompt escape down a crowded hallway. Plus in a fire, no elevator available. Post 9-11, we cant have wheelchairs in stairways, now can we. Come on now ...... WHAT IF. The ADA is relevant, for its fundamental principals. Just because someone has a disability, we should not just dispose of them. Reasonable accomadations are often available.
Cdog, Isn't it a little ridiculous that your post starts with the word "if", and then you contrive a theory that I see supported nowhere else that he was perceived to be engaged in a commercial activity. And by the last line you have this guy raking in a profit out of taking his deaf guys fishing, again unsupported.
I appreciate your concern about my level of education. But I would like to know what it is that you feel you learned from reading the link you provided? It seems to pretty much confirm what I said about the VHF. Further it demonstrates that the CG is actually in dialogue with the deaf boating community.
I’m not saying that a deaf person may not be at additional risk on the water. But they are at additional risk in the car, at work, and in their own homes for that matter. It’s a reality they live with, quite well I might add, everyday. What I am saying is that if there really do exist laws and regulations that prohibit them from boating alone they should be reviewed and amended. And as a fellow boater I don’t have any problems whatsoever sharing the water with deaf boaters.
I guess what I really don’t understand is exactly what your problem is with deaf people on the water.
Cdog –
Where and how did you make the leap to this guy placing others at risk for profit? The article clearly states that he is a recreational fisherman.
Deaf guy boating? Hell that ain't nothing. Ought to see my blind friend who insisted he continue shooting sporting clays. Now that's a hoot!
All kidding aside. If I was deaf I would still boat. F' em. Here is the Coast Guard telling him how to do it and then writing a citation. I think the ADA does some wonderful things and then it does some things that suck. Are any of you really serious that a deaf person shouldn't be allowed to operate a boat? Think about it.
Now, to the story. If he did something else, well then, with priviledge comes responsibility.
I'll bet my last dollar this whole thing gets reversed, and fast.
I guess deaf people shouldn't be allowed to drive cars either, because they aren't able to hear emergency vehicle sirens, or properly respond in to a police officer's verbal instructions when it is dark.
Or, maybe if they have a hearing person in the car with them it will be OK......
Someone need to be retrained, and fast.......
Coast Guard Cites Deaf Boater 
