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 MarineMax who is the world’s largest recreational boat and yacht retailer with over 100 locations worldwide including 79 retail dealership locations. We spoke with Captain Nick Pavlakis, one of the hosts of MarineMax’s weekly “Boating Tips Live” podcast and he also serves as a sales consultant at MarineMax St. Petersburg.

1. Congratulations on winning the National Boating Industry Safety Award! Can you please describe your winning entry for our audience?
   
   Yes, we are honored to have been chosen out of your record number of applications. Our winning award was our “Back to (Boating) School” campaign focused on the back-to-school timeframe to remind even the most seasoned boaters about the importance of ongoing boater education and safety.
   
   
   
2. What inspired you to promote boating safety?
   
   We wanted to help educate our customers so they can make lifelong memories on the water and the best way to do that is to be safe. With the recent "boating boom" from Covid, not only are there many more boats on the water but most are also new boaters. The best way to promote fun boating is to promote safe boating. This is done through continuous education and endless resources. Teach me, service me, show me how to have fun, this is how we provide our customers with the best boating experience.

3. What did you learn from working on this project or campaign?
   
   The “back to boating school” campaign taught me that we can all use a refresher course here and there. Whether you are a first-time boater or a seasoned Captain, it is important to never overlook good fundamentals and preparation. That is why, at MarineMax, we provide our customers with several different classes to continue their education to keep themselves and everyone else safe on the water. I grew up on the water boating and to this day, I still learn something every time I am with my podcast co-host Captain Keith who is shown here teaching a class. These lessons that I learn from him are things that I can use in my work, and in my personal life out on the water. 

4. Are you working on any future boating safety projects or campaigns? If so, is there anything you can share about what you’re planning to do?
   
   Now that you mention it, we are!  With the growth of our Boating Tips series, we are growing into a new segment, yachting safety.  While most of our boating safety projects are tailored to new boaters on smaller boats, we wanted our series to grow with our viewers. As you become more comfortable with boating, the natural progression is to keep moving up. This is where MarineMax comes in to teach safe boating through your whole boating journey. Starting with smaller boats and being there for you as you start to make your journey to a larger vessel, we want to be there for them every step of the way and grow alongside them.

5. Has participating in this project or campaign changed your perspective on boating safety and why it’s so important?
   
   Absolutely. The difference between an unforgettable day on the water, and tragedy is often one small mistake that could have been avoided. Some ways to stay safe on the water are, designating a sober skipper, preparation the day or night before, and continuous education. MarineMax truly provides all the resources you could need for education through their Captain's Orientation, Women on Water classes pictured below, boating tips video podcast and a consultant approach to the sales process that gets you and your family in the right boat.

Congratulations again to MarineMax on winning the 2022 National Boating Industry Safety Award as the top large marine retailer! You can watch MarineMax accepting their award from October 2022 in the video linked below.

The Sea Tow Foundation, with support from MarineMax and Sea Tow International, held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of its 1,000^th Life Jacket Loaner Stand at the Seminole Street Boat Ramp in Clearwater, FL. 

The Sea Tow Foundation’s Life Jacket Loaner Program started in 2008 with a single location where boaters could borrow and return life jackets for a safe day on the water. Thanks to grant funding from the Sport Fish Restoration & Boating Trust Fund as administered by the U.S. Coast Guard as well as corporate sponsors and individual donors, the program has since grown to be the largest life jacket loaner program in the world, with loaner stations in all 50 states, plus Washington, D.C., American Samoa and the Virgin Islands.

To celebrate this milestone and demonstrate their ongoing commitment to boating safety, MarineMax is matching donations made to the Sea Tow Foundation up to $5,000 from September 23-30. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to the Sea Tow Foundation and have MarineMax match it during this time frame, please visit www.boatingsafety.com/MarineMaxDonationMatch

Interview with MarineMax– Winner of the 2020 National Boating Industry Safety Awards

Video Blog

MarineMax won the 2020 National Boating Industry Safety Awards in the Large Marine Retailer Category. Given that the presentation of the award was done virtually at the MRAA’s Dealers Week, we decided to sit down to talk with Abbey Heimensen to find out a little more about their award-winning entry and plans for 2021.

MarineMax has developed a number of boating safety programs to help get the entire family involved in boating. Their “Women on Water” class is solely for ladies to be able to take the helm to learn and build confidence on the water. And, the “Intro to Boating” classes are great for new boaters including children, but there are also advanced boating education classes focused on charting, plotting, technology and other topics that boaters want to know.

You can find out more about MarineMax at www.marinemax.com.

Check out their video interview below.

The Sea Tow Foundation announced the winners of its inaugural National Boating Industry Safety Awards at the Elevate Summit in Orlando. The awards were sponsored and judged by the newly established North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council and funded through a grant from the Sport Fish Restoration & Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. The awards were established to recognize the best boating safety work in the for-profit sector of the recreational marine marketplace occurring within the United States.

The National Sober Skipper Advisory Council and the Sea Tow Foundation were very pleased by the caliber of candidates and the submissions received for our first awards recognition. We are all delighted to see the great work being done by recreational boating industry organizations and look forward to continuing to support and bring well deserved recognition to outstanding achievers and safe boating champions throughout the recreational marine industry.

Top Marine Manufacturer Award for Boating Safety – Sea Ray Boats

Top Marine Retailer Award for Boating Safety – MarineMax

Top Marine Media Award for Boating Safety – Bonnier Corporation

Top Marine Marketing and Boating Safety Outreach Award – Yamaha Outboards with their spokesperson, Hunter Bland

Newly established Sober Skipper Award presented to Freedom Boat Club in recognition of its outstanding adoption and promotion of the Sober Skipper program.

For more information about the North American Sober Skipper Advisory Council and the National Boating Industry Safety Awards, please visit https://www.boatingsafety.com/page/STFBSAC

A copy of the press release is available here.