The site (http://www.uscgaux.org/~floatplan/), which was inaugurated two years ago, features logical organization and an exclusive easy-to-prepare and use one-page design. The plan includes the Boating Emergency Guide™ to assist the holder of the plan, who has a genuine concern for the safety or welfare of the people on board, in beginning a search and rescue process, should it be needed.

"Those who use Float Plan Central are taking a vital step in allowing search and rescue personnel to narrow their search and thus locate overdue persons more rapidly," says Vern Jansky, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliarist who created the site.

Float Plan Central was built for and is designed for use by recreational boaters, educators of boating safety and organizations that promote boating safety.

"Boaters who do not file a float plan are counting on someone else – a friend, neighbor or family member – to remember detailed information that rescue personnel need to find those onboard in an emergency situation," says Jansky, who currently serves as Staff Officer of Publications and Communications for Auxiliary Flotilla 2 in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Jansky, in 1990, attended a Boating Skill and Seamanship class, which included a discussion of the importance of preparing a "float plan." All students in attendance received a copy of the "Federal Requirements" brochure that  included a "float plan" on its back page.

"Looking at it then, I thought to myself, ‘this could be a lot better,’ but I let it go at that," he recalls.  Jansky, after joining the Auxiliary, implemented the first Float Plan design in 1991, which found its way in 1994 into the "Federal Requirements and Safety Tips for Recreational Boaters." 

Float plans, according to Jansky, are not only for those at the helm of big expensive boats. They should also be filed by others taking to the water, including canoeists, jet skiers, rafters, rowers, sail boaters, sport fishermen and water skiers. Others, such as hunters, will also find them a valuable part of planning their activities.

"This is an excellent site," says Flotilla 7 Vice Commander William Pfaff Jr. of Hudson, Florida. "I hand out the Float Plan at information/safety booths that I man for the Coast Guard Auxiliary and now will give them out when I do a Vessel Safety Check."

Senior Instructor Robert Baskin of Epic Quest Outfitters in Ventura, California, who has spent many years as a mountain rescue team member, says Float Plan Central is a great help for his classes on outdoor safety and wilderness skills. He is directing his students to the Float Plan Central web site. 

"A section of our class is based on filing hiking plans, flight plans, and float plans, and how important they are to SAR personnel and recovering victims. Your site is a great help," said Baskin in an e-mail feedback message to the Auxiliary’s Float Plan Central.