Coast Guard Requests Paddlers Attach “If Found – Contact” Stickers to Watercraft

BARNSTABLE – According to the Coast Guard First District command center in Boston, about 80 calls regarding unmanned and adrift paddle craft have resulted in nearly 200 hours of searching since Memorial Day.

Authorities said that many of those cases did not involve a person in distress; rather, the owners’ boats had simply come loose from their docking.

These unnecessary searches can cost more than $24,000 in tax dollars per hour, not including the salary of crew members.

The Coast Guard urges all paddle craft owners to attach a waterproof “If found – contact:” markers to their boats, featuring a name and two telephone numbers.