Spring Boating Safety Tips

Spring is here which means it is time for warmer weather, sunny skies, and fun with friends or family members on the boat! Before you pack those bags and head out on your spring boating trip, the Sea Tow Foundation has 6 tips to help you have a safe AND fun time on the water.

1.    Take a Boating Safety Class Now. Many states require taking a passing a boating safety course and getting a boating license or boating certificate. Whether you’re renting a boat, recently bought a boat, or have years of boating experience, you’ll pick up some pointers and boost your marine confidence as well as satisfy requirements for boaters in Florida. And you could be eligible for a discount on your boat-owners insurance for passing a course, too. Boating safety courses are offered both online and in person through our friends with the America’s Boating Club (formerly known as the U.S. Power Squadrons) or take an interactive, online course through our friends at iLearntoBoat. You can also find other courses available through your state boating agency. 

2.    Ask for Advice. Spring boating trips may involve traveling to new and exciting destinations. If you are unfamiliar with the bay, lake, river or ocean you’re headed to, it’s smart to talk to the local Sea Tow captains in the area who will happily share water conditions, current patterns, routes and (bonus!) wildlife watching tips.  

3.    Pack the sunscreen. If you’re not used to the sun and warmer temperatures or with being outdoors for a good portion of the day, you will soon by surprised by a nasty sunburn. Put on some sunscreen and don’t forget a hat and polarized sunglasses, too.

4.    Reserve now. If you are planning to rent a boat during the spring season, make sure you’ve got the rental confirmed well in advance of your trip and reach out to the company ahead of time to see if you need to bring anything for the boat with you. They should provide you with an orientation to your rental boat as well as all of the safety equipment required. If you are taking your own boat out, make sure your boat trailer is ready for the road with good tires, straps and chains. Plus, check that the boat ramp is still open and that you find out where you can park your vehicle and trailer while you’re out on the water. 

5.    Once you get to your trip, follow the ABCD rule.

a.    Always Wear Life Jackets. Every passenger should wear a properly fitted U.S Coast Guard (USCG)-approved life jacket. And remember that adult-size life jackets aren’t meant for children. If you’ve forgotten to pack your own or need extras, you can always stop by a Sea Tow Foundation Life Jacket Loaner Station to borrow them for the day.

b.    Bring along safety gear. Emergency preparation = peace of mind. No matter the size of your boat, these are the absolute essentials to keep on board:

•                         Marine VHF radio
•                         First aid kit
•                         Fire extinguisher
•                         Tool kit
•                         Flashlight and extra batteries
•                         Duct tape
•                         Bucket
•                         Waterproof whistle or horn
•                         Lines
•                        Emergency signaling equipment

c.     Check—and Recheck—the Weather. Choppy waters can’t always be predicted. If conditions aren’t favorable, don’t chance it. There are many apps and websites that help you know the conditions before you go and to continue to check on the weather while you are out on the water.

d.    Designate a Sober Skipper. Never, ever operate a boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The wind, sun and boat vibration all contribute to increased impairment, even after a single beer. Responsible boaters carry plenty of water, non-alcoholic drinks and food on board. To learn more and Take the Pledge,  check out our Sober Skipper Campaign.

6.    Share Your Trip to Social. Did your spring boating trip really happen if you didn’t document it? Be sure to tag us in all your photos and adventures on all of our social media platforms: Instagram (@seatowfoundation),  Facebook (@SeaTowFoundation), Twitter (@SeaTowFdn) and LinkedIn (@seatowfoundation).
 

Have a fantastically fun and super safe spring break!

This year, we are showcasing each winner of the National Boating Industry Safety Awards via an individualized blog that answers questions posed to each winner. This will allow our readers to get to know each of the winners and see some of their winning materials, too.

The next Q&A blog in our winner series comes to us from Garmin International's Dave Dunn, who is the Senior Director of Marine and RV Sales at Garmin. We spoke with Dave recently and wanted to share our conversation.

1. Congratulations on winning the National Boating Industry Safety Award! Can you please describe your winning entry for our audience? 
   
   At Garmin, our mission revolves around creating products that fuel people’s passions within each of our core five business segments. In all those segments, it is also important for us to consider not only how our products can bring the customer more joy to their sport, but also how they can enhance situational awareness so they can continue pursuing those passions for many years to come. In the marine industry, it is especially important to consider how we can bring new innovative products to the market with exciting features and technology that also can serve a secondary purpose of promoting safety on the water.  From Auto Guidance that helps keep you on the right path and avoid obstacles in our cartography solution, to live sonar helping you avoid obstacles underneath the water, and GPS handheld devices with inReach satellite communication technology to help you in case of distress and much more, all our product categories in marine help promote being a safer boater. 

2. How does winning this award help your company? What partnerships, media coverage or opportunities have you gotten because of it?
   
   It’s always an honor to be recognized for bringing innovation to different markets and winning this award is no different. It shows our commitment to not only developing high-quality products and services, but also thinking beyond a feature set and putting the customer and their needs first. This award has allowed us to work with different industry media outlets to continue promoting the message of boater safety by showcasing how our products can support greater situational awareness and peace of mind on the water. We also had the opportunity to attend IBWSS and speak with attendees about marine tech and the importance of safety innovations on and off the water.
   
   
   
3. What inspired you to promote boating safety?
   
   As a company, we really pride ourselves in how our employees are already passionate about the industries we serve and use our products themselves every day. We cannot really get away from the “work” even when we are away from the office because it shows up in our free time as we are pursuing our own adventures. Many employees serving our marine segment around the globe have their own fishing gear, cruising and sail boats and spend their weekends out on the water. They see firsthand situations which may have been avoided using the right equipment and electronics on your boat and understand how they can help our customers. When the pandemic hit and recreational boating participation soared, many were hitting the water for the first time. We are excited about the marine industry growth the past few years, but understand it is our duty to do more than just sell our products to customers; we must also provide education about how to safety spend time on the water so that they, and everyone around them, can enjoy the sport we all love so much.    
   
   
   
4. What it was like creating your award-winning project or campaign? How much time did it take? How many people were involved?
   
   Garmin is a vertically integrated company, which means all aspects of the campaign we did were created in house. This is something we pride ourselves on since those who worked on this are also passionate about the boating industry and work in it every day. Multiple marketing and sales teams were involved in creating and executing our boating safety efforts throughout the year, from how we position Garmin and our products to the market, to how that fits into our overall strategy and what tactics would appeal most to the marine industry. We launch so many new products each year that it can be easy to lose sight of creating campaigns outside of that. Each year we take a step back and think about what could set us a part in the industry outside of product launches and what new campaigns and ideas support our company objectives while keeping our customers and their needs as the hallmark of everything we do.
   
   
   
5. What was your biggest takeaway from working on this project or campaign?
   
   The biggest takeaway from this campaign is the constant reminder of the importance of situational awareness in boating. Garmin is passionate about the marine industry and pushing the boundaries of new technology, but we also must consistently consider how that technology affects customers on the water and their future endeavors. For us, it is even a reminder outside of marine with the other industries we serve to think about how new technology not only makes a sport more fun or easier for new customers to get access to, but also how it can give them peace of mind to adventure safely.  From our inReach satellite communicators with global two-way messaging, to our kids Bounce smartwatch that gives parents the ability to communicate with their kids from their wrist, to our award-winning Autoland, the world’s first certified autonomous system designed to activate during an emergency to safety fly and land an aircraft without human intervention, and so much more, we are committed to creating new products and technologies so our customers can make the most of the time they spend pursuing their passions.

New Yamaha life jackets place on a Sea Tow Foundation Loaner Stand hosted by The City of Oceanside, CA.

Yamaha Motor Corporation is generously donating 800 brand-new adult sized life jackets to be used in the Sea Tow Foundation Life Jacket Loaner Program. These life jackets are located at Yamaha facilities in California, Georgia and Wisconsin so the Sea Tow Foundation reached out to hosts of our nationwide Life Jacket Loaner Program in the nearby areas and they jumped at the chance to add these life jackets to their loaner stations and put them into immediate use during the current and upcoming boating season.

In California, roughly 225 jackets will be used in loaner stations hosted by Sea Tow Newport Beach, Sea Tow LA, the City of Oceanside Harbor Division and the LifeSail Organization. All of these loaner stations are located in busy areas featuring a wide variety of boaters including stand-up paddleboarders, sail boaters and powerboaters.

Additionally, 320 life jackets in Georgia are headed to Sea Tow Lake Sinclair, Sea Tow Lake Allatoona, Sea Tow Lake Oconee and Sea Tow Clarks Hill Lake to be used at their combined 12 loaner stations. Also, they will be used in local state parks through a partnership with Georgia’s DNR Law Enforcement Division. And, they will also go to the US Army Corps of Engineers in Lake Allatoona who manage 22 loaner stations in the region.

1st photo:US Army Corp of Engineers volunteers Greta and Jody Bales, Jon Gridley of Sea Tow, Jack and Linda Croach and James Mills from Yamaha Motors. 2nd photo: Chris McCarthy of Sea Tow Newport Beach/LA. 3rd photo: Matt Schulz of LifeSail in Marina del Ray, CA. 4th photo: US Army Corp of Engineers Lake Allatoona, GA Lead Ranger Chris Purvis and Linda Croach. 5th photo: Mike Weidel from the Milwaukee Sail & Power Squadron and a Yamaha representative.

Nearly 250 life jackets in Wisconsin will go to the Milwaukee Sail & Power Squadron who manage two loaner stands as well as to other Sail & Power Squadrons in the region. There are also plans to use these life jackets at upcoming boat shows in the area.

If you have brand new or gently used life jackets that you would like to donate to a life jacket loaner station near you, use the Sea Tow Foundation’s Life Jacket Drive online form and we’ll be in touch about a local life jacket loaner station that is in need of more life jackets. You can also find out more in this video blog about how to inspect your gently used life jacket to know if it is in good shape to donate.

For more information on the Life Jacket Drive and Life Jacket Loaner Program go to www.boatingsafety.com/page/life-jacket-loaner-program

The gift-giving season is upon us and it’s always tough to find a gift for certain people in your family. But, if that family member is a boater, we’ve got 5 great ideas to help you shop. 

1. Automatic Inflatable Life Jacket – These are truly life-saving devices that are low profile and light weight. In fact, many boaters don’t even realize that they are on because they are so comfortable! However, if a boater is knocked overboard or slips and falls off the dock, the cartridge will automatically inflate the life jacket and bring the person to the surface where they can breathe and call for help. Just be aware that the U.S. Coast Guard restricts these for use only be people ages 16 and over and they must be worn to count toward carriage requirements.
   
   
   
2. E-Flare – A relatively new item on the market is the electronic flare. These devices are certified by the U.S. Coast Guard to replace traditional flares for emergency signaling by boaters. An E-Flare is 10 times brighter than a traditional flare, it doesn’t expire and need to be replaced every few years like a traditional flare, it floats and still works, and it won’t cause burns to people or equipment like a traditional flare. Plus, the light from an E-Flare lasts for hours compared to the 2-3 minutes that a traditional flare burns.
   
   
   
3. Satellite Communication Device– Getting help in an emergency is critical for boaters. Out on the water, cell phones are unreliable, but a personal locator beacon like ACR’s ResQLink is always able to get a signal if a boater has a good view of the sky. And the Garmin InReach Mini can also send a text message in a non-emergency letting loved ones know that you will be 30 minutes late for dinner.
   
   
   
4. Nautical Charts – Boating in unknown waters is challenging, but even the local waterways can change as storms or tides move navigational buoys from time to time. A subscription to the Navionics Boating App can serve as “Your Guide on the Water.” Updates are made daily and the app features charts, markers, weather and wind forecasts, tides, currents, sonar for fishing or diving, and turn-by-turn directions from one location to another on the water. Find subscription details here.
   
   
5. Sea Tow Membership – Knowing that local Sea Tow captains are standing by 24/7/365 can give boaters the peace of mind that they will be taken care of. Whether a boater needs advice on the best places to fish, has run out of gas, or is having mechanical problems with the boat, members get priority service so that you can get back to enjoying your day on the water even faster. Get a Sea Tow membership here.

*The Sea Tow Foundation may receive compensation as an affiliate of Amazon’s for purchases made with some of these links.

Would you ever get into a car with a drunk driver? Definitely not. But what about a boat, where the operator has had a few drinks? That’s where the lines have often become blurred.

Boating Under the Influence is a widespread issue, and it is the leading cause of all fatal boating accidents. However, BUI is not only illegal in every state, but it’s 100% preventable. Drinking and driving is taken very seriously, with people assigning designated drivers or taking an Uber when alcohol has been involved. In fact, actions like this have become second-nature for cars, but the water is a different story, and we have to do something about it.

You can be a part of changing this narrative by taking the pledge to always have a Sober Skipper behind the helm. That means pledging to either be or designate the Sober Skipper before you leave the dock. The operator of the boat will remain 100% drug and alcohol free to ensure that the boat is operated safely and everyone on board stays safe as well. Take the pledge, and help keep the water a safe and fun place for everyone.

Since the start of the Sober Skipper Campaign, more than 131,000 boaters have taken the Sober Skipper pledge and BUI accidents have fallen from 108 deaths and 248 injuries reported in 2014 to 86 and 186, respectively in 2021. 

Join the Sea Tow Foundation as we work to achieve the goal of “Heading to Zero”– that's zero BUI accidents, zero alcohol related boating deaths and zero drunk skippers behind the wheel. BUI is 100% preventable and the Sea Tow Foundation believes that BUI should nevre be the reason someone doesn't come home from a day on the water.

Spread the word about the importance of Sober Skippers by sharing this PSA video.