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“GREEN” FLAG
If your Florida marina flies a flag with a white pelican on a blue and green background, you know it takes the marine environment seriously.

Since its launch almost two years ago, the Florida Clean Marina program has been encouraging the state’s 1,800 marinas to clean up their act and adopt higher standards of eco-friendly operations. Since then the group has awarded 18 marinas with its pelican-emblazoned seal of approval.

“Boaters are starting to look for that flag,” says Don Jackson, a chief coordinator of the program, which is a joint effort of the Clean Boating Partnership, the University of Florida’s Sea Grant Extension, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

Florida got the idea form Maryland, which began recognizing its greenest marinas several years ago. Though the programs will differ, you can also expect to see similar projects soon in New York, Connecticut, Texas, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

“With more than 800,000 boats registered in Florida, the program should be highly visible in the coming years,” said Maia McGuire, a Sea Grant Extension agent who evaluates marina cleanliness along the state’s northeast coast.

ON GUARD FOR CO
If your model 2002 gasoline-powered boat has an enclosed head, galley, or stateroom, she should also have a carbon monoxide alarm. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) now requires all NMMA-certified boatbuilders to install the life-saving devices aboard vessels with any enclosed accommodations compartment.

Carbon monoxide poisoning causes flu-like symptoms including headache, nausea, and fatigue and is often misdiagnosed as seasickness. The alarms are designed to sound when even low levels are present, since they present a health risk.

REEF RAFFLE
Swing by the Florida Yacht Charters booth at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this month and try your luck at a raffle for a free four-day charter.

The Miami-based charter company has teamed up with Reef Relief, a nonprofit conservation group, to help protect the increasingly threatened coral reefs near Key West, Florida, and Abaco, Bahamas. A Reef Relief contribution of $30 or more gets you a one-year membership to the organization and a raffle ticket for the charter. For more information call (800) 537-0050.

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