| The Annual conference was
held in Grand Rapids at the
Crown Plaza Hotel on October
23-25. By most all accounts,
the conference was successful.
Attendance was up almost
three times from last year. The speakers were
interesting and informative. Captains were especially
interested in the information about trailering
charterboats as presented by State Police
Officer Austin, and by the marketing presentation
on "Pure Michigan" by MEDC Travel Michigan
Vice President George Zimmerman. His presentation
was especially informative, fun to listen to
and view. Clearly, we all need to take advantage
of the "Pure Michigan" website and Travel Michigan
campaign. The afternoon
field trip to the
weather forecasting
tools on the field trip to
the NOAA Grand Rapids
weather station was
fascinating.
Attendance was up
from past years, but
the officers and staff of
the Association would
like to see more of our
membership at our Annual Conferences. To this
end, the board asked Dan O'keefe from Michigan
Sea Grant to construct a survey to find out what
the Association could do to increase our attendance;
to make the Annual meetings more available
and more relevant to more of our members.
E-Blasts are becoming an important way for
us to reach you all quickly with breaking information.
Make sure you are getting the MCBA Eblasts.
Read more about E-blast issues elsewhere
in this newsletter.
There is a new MCBA application requirement
this year: We all know that Michigan State law
requires all charterboats for hire to be state inspected.
The MCBA needs to be sure that all
MCBA members operate within the state inspection
laws. This year, in an effort to be sure that all of our members are in compliance with the
law, a “State Inspected" check box was added to
the application. Be sure to check that box when
you submit your renewal if you own and operate
a charterboat for hire. If you skip it or forget it,
we will contact you to make sure that you are
state inspected. In this age of the world-wide
net, and Internet advertising, the MCBA needs to
be absolutely sure that all its members are fully
in compliance with the inspection laws.
By now, if you trailer your charterboat, you
have probably heard that the state and local police
are vigorously enforcing commercial transportation
laws. If you are in the charter business,
the commercial transportation laws cover
you even if you only move your boat from storage
to the launch ramp. State and local permits
may be required, especially if your boat and/or
trailer are over 8 feet, 6 inches wide. You may need an MDOT number, too. The
tickets can be
very expensive.
The rules and
regulations are
quite complicated,
and
there are many
variations, involving
length,
width, and
weight. Contact the Michigan Center for Truck Safety
(800-682-4682) for specific questions or to request
a guidebook: or at the website:
www.truckingsafety.org, you can download or
order a guidebook.
Finally, everyone needs to remember you
must have a valid USCG license, be in a USCG
approved drug program, have a valid TWIC card,
and operate a charterboat with a current MDNR
inspection decal to be a legal Michigan charter
boat. If you see a vessel operating without a decal,
taking passenger for hire; or know of a person
taking passengers for hire who does not
meet ALL the requirements, call the DNR RAP
line and file a report. Illegal charters hurt our
industry and hurt us all. Have a good winter, and
be safe next season. |
