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| Small Boat with a Big Message: This 10-foot inflatable dinghy is the New York Sea Grant Discover Clean and Safe Boating educational vessel for 2015. The message: no matter what size boat you have, practicing clean and safe boating helps everyone enjoy NY's waters. Photo: Brian P. Whattam |
- Learn about Suddenly In Command training so everyone aboard can be prepared to act calmly and properly in the event of an emergency on the water.
- Make sure all passengers are wearing a proper life jacket. A throwable floatation device is required onboard boats more than 16 feet long.
- Learn how to conduct an easy-to-do Clean, Drain, Dry inspection of your watercraft, trailer and gear to remove aquatic invasive species and debris each time you enter and leave new water.
- Check that all the safety features of your boat trailer are in proper working order.
- Check the number and expiration date/s of onboard fire extinguisher/s and flares. Store flares and distress signals in dry compartment. The Suddenly In Command intro with New York Sea Grant and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary shows how to properly ignite and handle a flare.
- Use a fuel nozzle bib when fueling your boat and a bilge sock to keep marine fuel from spilling into the water.
- Make sure all vessel lights are working and flashlights have fresh batteries.
- Have a proper device onboard to receive weather alerts.
- Check to be sure you have the proper navigational charts onboard.
- Check that the boat horn, whistles, distress flag and other means of signaling an emergency distress are in working order.
A new component for the campaign in 2015 is a fun, but serious introduction to Suddenly In Command training for people who enjoy boating but do not know how to operate a boat or properly signal for help. New York Sea Grant and the US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 21 are partnering to instruct people on the boating basics they need to know in the event of an emergency on the water. Several marinas have requested the program for their sites once the 2015 boating season gets underway.
Since 2008, when New York Sea Grant developed the Discover Clean and Safe Boating campaign in partnership with the Boating Industries Association of Upstate New York, the outreach effort has been recognized internationally as a model for partnering with the marine industry to educate the boating public. The Boating Industries Association, Pirate’s Cove Marina in Clay, NY, Lehr Engines, and BoatersAdvantage.com are the 2015 sponsors.
New York Sea Grant offers boating safety resource links for selecting the right life jacket, developing a float plan, requesting a courtesy vessel check and more online at www.nyseagrant.org/marina.
For more information, contact New York Sea Grant Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White at 315-312-3042.
Posted April 24, 2015
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