Cape Power Squadron helping educate boaters during National Safe Boating Week
Today marks the first day of National Safe Boating Week for 2008, an event sponsored by the National Safe Boating Council.
The NSBC, which was founded in 1958 and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, spreads knowledge of boating safety in partnership with over 350 U.S. and Canadian boating safety organizations.
The Cape Coral Power Squadron, one of about 450 U.S. Power Squadrons across the nation, helps celebrate boating safety this week by doing what it does best: spreading knowledge on proper boating through educational outreach.
Today and Sunday, from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., the CCPS will be offering vessel safety inspections by accredited U.S. Coast Guard inspectors at three Cape marinas.
“If the boat passes inspection, they’ll be given a decal to slap on the side,” said CCPS Lt. Commander John Hodgkinson. “If it fails, they’ll be given a confidential report.”
Hodgkinson said the information in the report is meant to help boaters learn how to make their vessel safe. There won’t be violations or fines associated with the inspections.
“It’s a helpful thing, not a punitive thing,” he said.
Inspections will be held at the Cape Coral Yacht Club, 5819 Driftwood Parkway, today and Sunday; Cape Harbor at 781 Cape Harbour Drive, today; and Tarpon Point Marina Fuel Dock at 1108 S.W. 43rd Street on Sunday.
The CCPS was founded locally in 1964 and offers classes regularly, with subsidized pricing for those willing to share a textbook of about $50 for two people. About 500 boaters graduate from the local program annually.
Though with 13 million recreational vessels registered in the United States, about a million registered in Florida and 60,000 in Lee County alone, that number hardly compares to the amount of boaters on Southwest Florida waterways these days, Hodgkinson said.
“We have a lot of work to do,” he said. “There is a very, very high density of power boats.”
Despite the amount of boaters skimming local waterways, Hodgkin-son estimates about 1 in 10 utilize proper boating safety techniques such as having enough life jackets, carrying flares on board and boating in a sober state of mind.
To learn more about the Cape Coral Power Squadron, call 549-9754, or visit the organization’s headquarters at 917 S.E. 47th Terrace.
BUI, or boating under the influence of drugs or alcohol, is considered a serious crime and can lead to jail time, fines and a revocation of operator privileges, according to the Boating Safety Division of the U.S. Coast Guard.
“A lot of people don’t realize, driving a boat and being in the sun really wears you out,” said Hodgkinson. “One drink on the water is the same as two or three on land.”
The U.S. Coast Guard boating safety Web site said about BUI:
– Alcohol increases the chance of a boating accident. “U.S. Coast Guard data shows that in boating deaths involving alcohol use, over half the victims capsized their boats and/or fell overboard.”
– Alcohol is more dangerous when driving a boat than on dry land. “The marine environment — motion, vibration, engine noise, sun, wind and spray — accelerates a drinker’s impairment. These stressors cause fatigue that makes a boat operator’s coordination, judgment and reaction time decline even faster when using alcohol.”
– Boat operators often have less experience and confidence driving a boat versus driving a car. “Boaters average only 110 hours on the water per year.”
The Lee County Marine Law Enforcement Task Force also recognizes National Safe Boating Week, and has already featured a personal floatation device demonstration with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office.
With Sheriff Mike Scott looking on, deputies jumped in the Caloosahatchee River Friday at 10 a.m. to demonstrate the ease with which PFDs are worn and how they work, according to a recent press release from Lee County Natural Resources.
“If I’m not working, I’m in the water,” said Scott on Wednesday, who is a life-long resident of Lee County and avid boater.
The demonstration was set to take place at the city’s yacht basin, he said.
“When I was a young man, going down the waterways, you might see one or two vessels,” said Scott. That number has grown substantially in recent years, Scott said. “It’s much more busy; it’s much more trafficked.”
The Lee County Marine Law Enforcement Task Force is also supporting Florida’s “Wear It” campaign, with a goal of bringing up the number of boaters who consistently use life jackets.
Formed in 2003, the Lee County Marine Law Enforce-ment Task Force includes members from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Myers Police Department, the Cape Coral Police Department, the Sanibel Police Department, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservative Commission, the Florida Department of Environ-mental Protection Division of Law Enforcement and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Cape Coral Mayor Eric Feichthaler is set to sign a proclamation Monday morning at 10:30 to declare National Safe Boating Week an official Cape Coral holiday, Hodgkin-son said.
Mastercraft Boats Dealer’s Web site offers basic boating safety tips for all boaters, including:
– Always wear a life jacket that fits properly.
– Make sure all passengers are sober.
– Take a legitimate boating class.
– Obey all boating laws and regulations.
– Get your boat checked by the Coast Guard Auxiliary or a certified technician.
– Be aware of other vessels, people and objects in the water.
– Drive with proper lights and with caution at night.
– Hold onto or stay close to your boat if it capsizes.
– Flares, visual distress signals, paddles or oars, whistles or other sounding devices and backfire flame arresters are also considered important items to bring boating.
– Check weather forecasts before boating.
For a complete list of boating safety tips from Mastercraft Boats Dealer, visit http://www.mastercraft-boats-dealer.com/Boat_Safety_Tips.html.