5/17/2006
National safe boating week, May 20-26, 2006
By Joan Watt, Commander Ocean City Power Squadron
Recreational boating has grown and as summer approaches many are preparing to enjoy being on the water. Are you ready and prepared to enjoy a safe boating season?
“National Safe Boating Week,” May 20-26, 2006, is the start of a year round effort to promote safe boating. Every year the President of the United States proclaims the seven day period prior to Memorial Day weekend as National Safe Boating Week and Ocean City Mayor Jim Mathis also issues a Proclamation to emphasize the importance of safe boating practices.
Ocean City Power Squadron (OCPS) is committed to making recreational boating safer and reducing the number of injuries and deaths caused by boating accidents. Members are teaching courses, inspecting vessels, gathering data on water depths, changes in navigational aids and identifying on the water visible landmarks to help NOAA update nautical charts of the local area.
How can you, as a boater, make sure you do are doing your part to ensure the safety of yourself and those who go boating with you? The following are minimum guidelines for safe boating:
Wear a properly fitted life jacket. Wearing a life jacket can reduce by 80 percent the number of boaters who lose their lives each year by drowning.
Have your vessel checked for safety. Does your vessel (sail boat, power boat, pwc, kayak, rowboat, etc.) comply with federal, state and local laws, particularly regarding carrying safety equipment? A Vessel Safety Check Includes:
Display of registration numbers
Valid state registration
Personal flotation devices (PFD), U.S. Coast Guard approved
Visual distress signals (flares) with proper dates
Fire extinguisher preferably mounted
Safe fuel system, including proper ventilation for fuel tank and I/O or inboard engines)
Backfire flame control for all I/O or inboard engines
Sound producing device (horn/bell)
Navigation lights, anchor and running lights)
Pollution placard vessels for 26 feet and longer
MARPOL trash placard for vessels 26 feet and longer
Marine sanitation devices for all vessels with installed heads
Navigation rules for all vessels 39.4 feet or longer
State and/or local requirements
Overall vessel condition
Safe electrical system including battery terminals covered in a battery box or with rubber caps
OCPS and the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary have certified examiners to perform a free vessel safety check (VSC) of your boat. There is no penalty should your vessel fail an exam and you will be told how to correct any deficiencies for a re-exam. Those vessels meeting federal, state and local safety regulations are awarded a decal which is placed on their boat. Call Bill Neubrand, 410-641-5622 to schedule your vessel safety check.
Never boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Get proper training in the safe operation of your boat. Check weather reports. Know the “rules of the road.”
OCPS offers safe boating education classes to the public. Additional courses for members include engine maintenance, electrical systems, Global Positioning System (GPS), piloting, navigation, cruise planning, skipper saver, weather, and other advanced classes. Knowing how to operate and maintain your boat, read charts, understand the weather and follow the “rules of the road” will help prevent boating accidents.
Emphasizing boating safety is important because on the average 700 people die each year in the U.S. in boat-related accidents. Knowledge and skill improve judgment and reduce boating accidents caused by human error. Overall careless and reckless operation, operator inattention, operator inexperience, and excessive speed are the leading contributing factors of all reported accidents. Seventy percent of all reported fatalities occurred on boats where the operator had not received safety instruction.
Are you going to be a boater who has a safe and wonderful boating season this year, or are you going to be one of the boating accident statistics or fatalities?
It is up to you. Make a commitment during National Safe Boating Week and throughout the entire year to do everything you can to help make boating safer and you can then be prepared to enjoy a safe boating season. “Boating is fun, but safe boating is more fun”
Check out the OCPS’s website is at www.ocpowersqudron.org for links on hurricane preparedness information for boaters.
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Uploaded: 5/16/2006
