Media Note: Coast Guard spokespersons in your area may be available to discuss the importance of safe boating for the duration of National Safe Boating Week. Please contact us at 216-902-6020 to check on availability. If there is no answer, wait for a voicemail with instruction to be forwarded to a 24/7 on-call duty public affairs specialist.
CLEVELAND — Saturday is the kick off of National Safe Boating Week, which launches the annual “Wear It!” North American Safe Boating campaign sponsored by the National Safe Boating Council, endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard, promoted throughout the U.S. and Canada and runs from May 21-28, 2016.
Throughout National Safe Boating Week the Great Lakes Coast Guard will highlight key safety tips for the 2016 boating season, leading off with the campaign life jacket theme, “Wear It!”
As an integral part of recreational boating safety the 9th Coast Guard District recommends all Great Lakes boaters not only have properly sized and fitted life jackets for every person aboard their vessels as required by law, but to also ensure everyone aboard is wearing their life jacket at all times while underway.
All recreational boats must carry one Coast Guard-approved wearable life jacket appropriately sized for each person aboard. Boats 16 feet and longer, except canoes and kayaks, must have at least one throwable (type IV) personal flotation device immediately available for use as well.
“A life jacket only works if you wear it," said Mike Baron, the recreational boating safety specialist for the Coast Guard 9th District. "They come in all shapes and sizes and are the single-most important piece of survival equipment a boater can possess.”
According to the Coast Guard Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety's 2015 Recreational Boating Statistics, the most current validated statistics available, 626 boaters died on our nation’s waterways in that calendar year. Where the cause of death was known, 76 percent of fatal boating accident victims drowned; of those drowning victims, 85 percent were not wearing a life jacket.
In three recent cases with eight potential victims, search and rescue crews highlighted the use of life jackets as key. All eight people were rescued, some having been in the below-50-degree water for almost two hours. All were wearing lifejackets.
“You have to wear the right life jacket for the activity you're engaging in,” Baron said. “Much like a bicycle helmet won’t save your life while riding a motorcycle, life jackets are designed for specific activities to afford the wearer with the level of protection necessary in case of an accident while still allowing for comfort and maneuverability.”
Additionally, Saturday is the “Ready, Set, Wear It! Life Jacket World Record Day” where community members can attend a hosted event to learn more about life jackets and boating safety. Those who attend a registered event can be a part of the 2016 record attempts for both the number of life jackets worn and the number inflated in one day. More information about types of life jackets and sizing is available at www.uscgboating.org or at www.safeboatingcampaign.com.
Great Lakes Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary crews are hosting a number of National Safe Boating Week events throughout the region. A full list of times and locations for all registered Life Jacket World Record Day events is available at www.readysetwearit.com.
The Great Lakes Coast Guard will highlight boaters wearing their life jackets throughout this boating season. Boaters are encouraged to direct message Coast Guard Great Lakes Facebook and Twitter accounts with photos of themselves wearing life jackets so their participation in the "Wear It!" campaign can be shared via Coast Guard social media accounts.