AMSEA 7th Grade Safety Fair

 Lee House and Jud Kirkness leading the SAR Station (Photo by James Poulson/Daily Sitka Sentinel)

Written by: Romi Manela

AMSEA (Alaska Marine Safety Education Association) has brought back its annual 7th grade Safety Fair! For the first time since the COVID pandemic in 2019, AMSEA  ran the 7th grade Safety Fair during the school day Friday on May 2nd in partnership with Sitka Search and Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team, and Dan Dunn on the FV Eigil B. Students rotated through 6 hands-on stations, learning about search and rescue methods, flares and signals, aids to navigation, small vessel safety, anchoring, flooding damage control and more!

The U.S. Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team station featured a safety-themed obstacle course where students identified types of signals, practiced creating an SOS, throwing a life ring and rescue bag, and correctly donning an immersion suit. With the Search and Rescue team, students practiced proper packing for an excursion, completed rescue techniques with a litter, and learned about mechanical advantage through a ropes demonstration. At the signals station, students learned about the features of a successful rescue signal and participated in a flare demonstration. At anchoring and navigation, students learned about anchoring best practices, reading a tide book, and basic knot tying. At the damage control trailer, students learned about damage control kits and practiced plugging holes through an interactive flooding simulation. At Eliason Harbor, students received a vessel safety orientation, including specific safety instructions in the cabin, wheelhouse, roof and engine room with Dan Dunn on the Eigil B.

AMSEA would like to extend a big thank you to Jarret Hirai, Ben White, Dan Dunn, Lee House, Jud Kirkness, BM1 Isaiah Gerke, BM1 Michael Sanchez, BM3 Johsten Whitmore, EM3 Garrett Wandel, MK3 Joshua Tutich, and MK3 Harley Keenan. We appreciate all of your efforts to make this event possible!

AMSEA provides youth programming in cold water safety, pool training with life jackets and immersion suits, survival shelter building, and more. This spring, AMSEA brought youth safety training to communities all over Southeast, including Hoonah, Kake, Angoon, Gustavus, and Pelican. AMSEA operates nationally, holding drill conductor classes for commercial fishermen, fishermen’s first aid and opioid overdose training, marine safety instructor training, recreational boating, and other marine safety courses.

AMSEA's mission is to reduce injury and death in the marine and freshwater environment through education and training provided by a network of qualified marine safety instructors. Since 1985, AMSEA’s training—unique in Alaska and the largest in the nation—has helped reduce fishing fatalities by over 80%. Recent federal funding cuts will soon have significant impacts on AMSEA’s operating budget. If you are interested in learning more about AMSEA’s programming or funding efforts, visit our website at amsea.org or subscribe to our blog. The revival of AMSEA’s 7th grade safety fair was made possible by Sitka AmeriCorps, which funded Romi Manela’s position as a youth program coordinator and educator.