National Safe Boating Week is May 20-26
Don't stow your life jacket: Wear it!
The simple pleasure of a summer boat ride can turn sour quickly with unexpected dangers.
Collisions, capsizing and falls overboard are some of the more dangerous incidents that account for the 4,400 boating-related accidents and 700 deaths each year.
Among all the factors that figure into the 2,600 injuries per year — including alcohol use, leaving the boat voluntarily, high speeds, and machinery failure — there is one that figures into 83 percent of deaths: Not wearing a life jacket.
Safe boating advocates say the single most important thing you can do to prevent death and injury is wear the jacket.
Some safe boating tips:
* Be weather wise. Sudden winds, lightning flashes and choppy water can mean a storm is brewing. Bring a portable radio to check the weather.
* Bring the extra gear in a container that floats, including a flashlight, extra batteries, matches, a map, flares, sunscreen, and extra sunglasses.
* Tell someone where you are going, who is with you, and how long you will be away.
* Check your boat, equipment, boat balance, engine and fuel supply. Never overload your boat.
* Ventilate after fueling. Open the hatches, run the blower and sniff for gasoline fumes in the fuel and engine areas before starting the engine.
* In a small boat, keep fishing and hunting gear well packed. Bring extra line to secure the boat or equipment.
* Stay warm and dry. Bring a waterproof covering. Never wear hip waders in a small boat.
* Be ready for higher-powered boats to pass you. Stay on your side of the channel and maintain a steady speed.
* Anchor from the bow, not the stern. Use anchor line length at least five times longer than water depth.
Taking a safe boating course has long-lasting benefits. When you complete a course, you could earn lower boat insurance costs. In 75 percent of boating deaths in 2021, the operator completed no safety instruction.
Rick Good spent ten years in the newspaper business, including with The News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) and The Greenville News (Greenville, SC). He co-wrote, with Melinda Coleman, Rutledge to Riley: Governors of South Carolina, 1776–Present (Published by The Greenville News), and is the author of Mind Games Trivia #1 (Amazon). He has recently spent 15 years creating original trivia content through Sounds Good Mobile Entertainment and continues that with his new company, SGME Software. He edits The Smart Reader’s money, real estate, and business coverage.
