The United States Coast Guard Motto, Semper Paratus, means always ready.
Rio Vista Coast Guard Station Officer-In-Charge (OIC), Chief Boatswain’s (Bosun) Mate, Michael Bennett has served with the Coast Guard for nearly 13 years and has overseen the Rio Vista Station for a year. He was born in the small town of Waterboro, Maine. The town of less than 8,000 people is located about 20 miles west of the Atlantic Ocean. Waterboro is near several inland lakes and rivers, so it seemed a natural fit for Michael to join the Coast Guard and work on the water.
Chief Bennett commutes an hour daily to Rio Vista from his home in Sonoma where he lives with his wife Heidi, their 8-year-old daughter Aubrey, and 7-year-old son Mikey. The military is a family affair. Heidi is an active-duty Coast Guard EMT instructor at TRACEN (Training Center) in Petaluma. Her father and mother are both retired Army Majors. Michael’s father and brother are long-time civilian contractors to the military. So, joining the Coast Guard was an easy decision.
After attending Hudson University (where he played football), he started a small painting business. Realizing he wanted to do something that had a positive impact on the community and offered growth within a career, he drove to the nearest USCG recruiting station and signed up. Forty-five days later he was at the USCG Training Camp in Cape May, New Jersey for basic training.
Until then he had flown in an airplane only once and his only foreign travel was to Canada. That quickly changed after he completed training. Upon graduation he traveled cross country for his initial posting in Alameda, CA. He then served in New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and South Carolina before finally being detailed here in Rio Vista. At the Rio Vista Station, he is in command of 27 crew, 5 reservists, 1 Coast Guard Auxiliary Watch Stander, and 3 patrol boats. His area of responsibility (AOR) is over 1,000 miles of Delta waterways.
The Coast Guard’s mission is to ensure maritime safety, security, and stewardship. However, since the USCG’s inception in 1790, the services they provide have greatly multiplied. During the last 230 years, the USCG has seen service in such places as South America, Africa, and the Mediterranean Sea.
The USCG rightfully prides itself on being the first to arrive and lend support for maritime emergencies. As its core mission, the Rio Vista USCG Station is heavily engaged in boating safety. The station also assists local agencies like the Solano and Sacramento Sheriff’s departments in search and rescue operations. Regarding the station’s mission, Chief Bennett said, “we exist to ensure safety and security for the Delta region. That’s the whole reason we are up here.”
Chief Bennett is adamant that the most important safety practice for every boater is to “always make sure there are enough life jackets aboard, and to wear them. Life jackets save lives!” Frequently overlooked but incredibly important, a safe boater should leave a written float plan with a trusted family member or friend who can use it to contact the Coast Guard should the boat need help or be seriously overdue. A float plan should include contact information, boat and car information, contact cell phone number or radio channel, destination, expected departure and return times, and more. An excellent sample float plan is available from the US Coast Guard site www.uscgboating.org. This site is a great resource for safe boating techniques and includes the national 2019 Recreational Boating Statistics. According to these statistics, the highest number of recreational boating deaths was due to Falls Overboard, and of those, over 82% were drownings due to lack of life jacket use.
According to the chief, the best way to avoid boating disasters is to anticipate them beforehand and have a plan in place should one occur. It is critically important to know how to reach the Coast Guard or other emergency service on radio channel 16. This channel is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, for mariners in distress. Chief Bennet said not to trust cell phones to be available. The phone could be out of service range, have moisture damage, or not be adequately charged. He said to be sure to have more than one way of signaling for help when needed. So, be like the Coast Guard and be Semper Paratus (always ready) when it comes to boating safety.
The Rio Vista US Coast Guard Station is located at 900 Beach Drive. The station’s telephone number is (707) 374-2871. For more information about the Coast Guard and an array of free boating tips, the website www.coastguard.com is a great resource.