Finding Them Again: GPS Certificates and the Open National Ash Scattering Registry

Families ask me the same question more than almost any other, sometimes the day of the ceremony and sometimes years later:

“How do we find the place again?”

I am Captain Brett McGhee of Ocean Ashes. When we scatter ashes at sea, we leave the marina, run offshore past the legal line, and release a loved one into water that does not stand still. The Gulf and the Atlantic keep moving. What does not have to move is the record of where you said goodbye.

That is why every Ocean Ashes ceremony includes precise GPS coordinates on a scattering certificate — and why we opened a free public map so those coordinates can still be found when paper fades, phones change, and the next generation asks where to look.

Why GPS belongs on every certificate

In U.S. ocean waters, cremated remains must be scattered at least three nautical miles from land under the federal burial-at-sea general permit. Official EPA guidance: https://www.epa.gov/marine-protection-permitting/burial-sea. We go that distance on purpose, then write down the latitude and longitude taken at the moment of release.

Those numbers are not decoration. They are the last known place. A sister may want to stand on a beach years later and know which way to face. A grandchild may only have a name and a story about “somewhere off St. Pete.” A friend of the family may never have been on the boat and still deserves a way back to the water.

On an attended charter from our flagship at Maximo Marina in Saint Petersburg (https://www.oceanashes.com/saint-petersburg), families often watch me record the coordinates while the petals are still on the surface. On an unattended scattering (https://www.oceanashes.com/unattended), you are not aboard, but the same care applies: offshore beyond three nautical miles, rose petals, EPA notice, photos, and a custom GPS certificate sent to you afterward. Popular unattended is $189. Deluxe is $250 and adds HD video plus three certificates. Extra certificates are $20 if siblings each want one to frame.

Private attended charters are $595 for up to six guests. Groups larger than six are split trips only; we do not arrange a larger vessel. The same GPS practice holds at our other ports — Destin, the Florida Keys / Islamorada, St. Augustine, and Galveston — so the certificate means the same thing whether the day was quiet and private or shared with the whole family on deck.

What the Open National Ash Scattering Registry is

A certificate in a drawer is only useful if someone can still find it. Paper gets lost. Phones get replaced. That is why we built the Open National Ash Scattering Registry (https://www.oceanashes.com/national-scattering-registry): a free, public map of scatterings at sea.

Search a loved one’s name. See the GPS. Record a memorial from any coast — whether the ceremony was with Ocean Ashes or with another captain elsewhere. It is not a cemetery and it is not a paid listing. It is a public record so the ocean, which is a living memorial, can still be found.

Each pin is a person: a name, the years of a life, the date the ashes went into the water, and the coordinates taken at the ceremony. Ocean Ashes ceremonies already go on this map. So can a scattering done by another family on another coast. Florida, Texas, California, New England. Gulf or Atlantic. If you have the name and the GPS, it belongs here.

You do not need an account to search. There is no fee to add a memorial. We review submissions by hand so the map stays accurate and respectful. If you placed a pin and later want it changed or removed, email brett@oceanashes.comand we will take care of it.

How to search or add a memorial

Open the National Scattering Registry. Use Search the map and type the name. Select the pin to see the years, the scattering date, the body of water, and the GPS. For a common name, add a middle name or the year they died.

To add a memorial, use Add a memorial on that same page. Pull out the certificate if you have one. You will need:

• Loved one’s full name as it should appear

• Year born and year died, if you have them

• Date of the scattering

• Latitude and longitude in decimal degrees (west longitude is negative — for example 27.673 and -82.796)

• Body of water and, if known, the nearest port or city

• Your contact information so we can reach you

You do not need to have used Ocean Ashes. This is an open registry. If you only have degrees-minutes-seconds on an older certificate, send it to us and we will convert it. If you have a story about “off Clearwater” or “near Destin” without exact GPS, write anyway — we can often place a respectful note near those waters.

How this fits the rest of a family’s plan

Some families book an attended day when travel is possible. Others ship ashes for unattended scattering when a boat day is not possible yet. USPS current rules: https://news.usps.com/2025/03/01/theres-a-new-rule-for-shipping-cremated-remains/. Either way, the GPS certificate and the registry are how the place stays findable.

Current packages and ports: https://www.oceanashes.com/new-products-1. Veterans: https://www.oceanashes.com/veterans-affairs. Traveling with cremains: https://www.oceanashes.com/ocean-ashes/2025/9/29/traveling-with-cremated-remains-the-definitive-guide-2025-update.

The ocean carries what we entrust to it. The certificate records the place. The registry is how you find your way back when the years have moved on.

If you want help reading a certificate, placing a pin, or choosing attended or unattended for your family, reach out. I answer when I can, and Ocean Ashes will treat your loved one as we would want our own family treated on the water.

Captain Brett McGhee Ocean Ashes · oceanashes.com · (727) 362-6393

How to Ship Ashes for an Unattended Ocean Scattering

When a family lives far from the coast, or simply cannot be on the boat that day, an unattended ocean scattering can still feel personal, careful, and complete. I am Captain Brett McGhee of Ocean Ashes, and I personally handle our unattended scatterings from our home waters in Saint Petersburg. This post is the practical version of what I tell families on the phone: how to ship ashes safely, what the law requires, and what you receive afterward.

Why families choose ship-in unattended

Grief does not always line up with travel schedules, weather windows, or a spare weekend to fly into Florida. Sometimes the person who loved the Gulf most is already at rest in an urn across the country. Sometimes the family wants a quiet goodbye without a boat day. Unattended does not mean impersonal. It means you entrust the ceremony to a licensed captain who treats the remains with the same dignity we give every attended charter.

Our [unattended ash scattering](https://oceanashes.com/unattended) service is built for that trust. The Popular package is $189 and includes the offshore scattering, fresh rose petals, EPA notification, photos, and a custom GPS certificate. The Deluxe package is $250 and adds HD video plus three certificates. If you prefer to be aboard later, our private attended charters are $595 for up to six guests from ports including [Saint Petersburg](https://oceanashes.com/saint-petersburg), Destin, the Florida Keys / Islamorada, St. Augustine, and Galveston. See current options on our [services shop](https://oceanashes.com/new-products-1).

One note for planning: I am out of town until September 10, 2026, so we are not promising attended St. Pete charters before then. Unattended scatterings and our partner-port attended trips continue on their normal schedules.

The short version of the EPA rule

In U.S. ocean waters, cremated remains must be scattered at least three nautical miles from land. That is federal rule under the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act general permit. You do not file for permission beforehand. You (or we, on your behalf) notify the EPA within 30 days after the scattering. Official guidance lives here: [EPA Burial at Sea](https://www.epa.gov/marine-protection-permitting/burial-sea).

We go the required distance into the Gulf, record GPS, use biodegradable petals and notes only, and file the notice so your family does not have to learn the form on a hard week.

How to ship cremated remains (USPS)

In the United States, the Postal Service is the carrier that accepts cremated remains for mailing. Private carriers generally will not. Current USPS practice is to use Priority Mail Express and the official Cremated Remains packaging, not a random carton from the garage. Free kits and the step-by-step packing guide are in USPS Publication 139: [How to Package and Ship Cremated Remains](https://about.usps.com/publications/pub139.pdf). USPS also summarizes mailing limits on its [shipping restrictions](https://www.usps.com/international/shipping-restrictions.htm) page.

Practical packing tips I share with families:

1. Keep the ashes in a sift-proof inner container (the crematory box is fine if it seals well; an urn works too).

2. Cushion it so it cannot shift or puncture.

3. Use the USPS Cremated Remains Priority Mail Express box as the outer package.

4. Put a paper with both addresses and a phone number inside the box in case a label ever separates.

5. Ship to the address we confirm by email after you book. Please do not mail until we confirm receipt timing and the destination line.

If you are local to Tampa Bay, you may also arrange a drop-off instead of shipping. Email brett@oceanashes.com or call/text (727) 362-6393 and we will walk you through either path.

What happens after we receive the ashes

Once the package arrives, I confirm receipt with you. On the scheduled day we take the remains offshore from our St. Pete operation, scatter beyond three nautical miles, release rose petals, photograph the moment as appropriate, and prepare your GPS certificate. Deluxe families also receive the HD video. The certificate is something many people frame; extra certificates are $20 each if siblings each want one.

You can also record the memorial (whether or not the ceremony was with us) in our free [National Scattering Registry](https://oceanashes.com/national-scattering-registry), which maps GPS locations families choose to share.

Veterans and their families should also see our [veterans page](https://oceanashes.com/veterans-affairs) for military burial-at-sea information and current veteran offers.

Attended later, unattended now

Some families ship ashes for an unattended scattering now and plan a separate trip to the Gulf later for their own memorial on the water. Others book a private attended cruise when travel is possible. Both are valid. Groups larger than six guests are split across trips; we do not arrange a larger vessel at this stage. Max six per boat keeps the day quiet and private.

If Destin, Islamorada, St. Augustine, or Galveston is the harbor that meant home, start on those port pages and we will match you with the local captain for an attended day when the calendar allows.

A gentle closing

Shipping ashes is not a cold logistics errand. It is the last careful errand of love you can do from wherever you are. If you want help choosing Popular or Deluxe, confirming a ship-to address, or deciding whether attended or unattended fits your family better, reach out. I answer the phone myself when I can, and Ocean Ashes will treat your loved one as we would want our own family treated on the water.

Captain Brett McGhee

Ocean Ashes · oceanashes.com · (727) 362-6393

- https://oceanashes.com/unattended

- https://oceanashes.com/saint-petersburg

- https://oceanashes.com/new-products-1

- https://oceanashes.com/national-scattering-registry

- https://oceanashes.com/veterans-affairs

- https://www.epa.gov/marine-protection-permitting/burial-sea

- https://about.usps.com/publications/pub139.pdf

- https://www.usps.com/international/shipping-restrictions.htm