the tradition continues

Quality marine service for decades, Dog River Marina Complex and Middleton Marine has been a leader providing expert craftsmanship and a complete range of marine services in Mobile and Orange Beach. Our service personnel are proven to be outstanding at their craft. Located a few short miles from the Gulf, you will find that we are the marina for all of your boating needs.

Quality marine service for decades, Dog River Marina Complex and Middleton Marine has been a leader providing expert craftsmanship and a complete range of marine services in Mobile and Orange Beach. Our service personnel are proven to be outstanding at their craft. Located a few short miles from the Gulf, you will find that we are the marina for all of your boating needs.

Quality marine service for decades, Dog River Marina Complex and Middleton Marine has been a leader providing expert craftsmanship and a complete range of marine services in Mobile and Orange Beach. Our service personnel are proven to be outstanding at their craft. Located a few short miles from the Gulf, you will find that we are the marina for all of your boating needs.

Quality marine service for decades, Dog River Marina Complex and Middleton Marine has been a leader providing expert craftsmanship and a complete range of marine services in Mobile and Orange Beach. Our service personnel are proven to be outstanding at their craft. Located a few short miles from the Gulf, you will find that we are the marina for all of your boating needs.

DISTRACTED DRIVING HAPPENS ON THE WATER TOO?

In my opinion, technology has advanced faster than humans can comprehend and assimilate into boating operations. With the overabundance of data bombarding our brain, boaters are becoming complacent and over reliant on technology to resolve what our brain should be doing. It’s also causing us to lose our instinct to have a questioning attitude. Too much technology is the entering argument for complacency, which directly contributes to the development of three major deficiencies that can each lead to increased incidents at sea. The first is one is called “sensory overload”. Sensory overload occurs when our brains have too many instruments displaying too much information that may or may not be pertinent to the primary task at hand, keeping your vessel and its passengers safe. The second pitfall is losing situational awareness. Situational awareness is the ability to “keep the big picture” by staying cognizant of what is happening all around us. Losing situational awareness for just a brief few seconds, and engaging in something as simple as answering your cell phone, will lead to distracted boating which can be the difference between life and death. And finally, the deficiency that plagues both recreational and commercial boaters alike, the inability to make a decision using our brain first (mental gymnastics) before consulting with technology for its solution. Without mental gymnastics we become nothing more than malicious compliers, blindly obeying everything technology tells us to do regardless if it’s leading us down the wrong rabbit hole. In summary, don’t allow yourself to fall victim to the pitfalls of sensory overload, loss of situational awareness or becoming a malicious complier by obeying everything technology tells you to do. Always remember, machines may reflect much of the science of navigation but only a competent human can practice the art of navigation.

Captain Jack R. Sanzalone is a 30-year submarine veteran and licensed USCG Master Captain and Assessor with 41 years of experience. He’s the owner of The Captain School Orange Beach Alabama. You can contact Captain Jack at: jack@boattutors.com or by visiting his website at www. boattutors.com