National Safe Boating Week demonstration Thursday
The Lee County Marine Law Enforcement Task Force, the Marine Emergency Response Team and West Marine will be at the Centennial Park Boat Ramp in downtown Fort Myers at 10 a.m., Thursday, May 14, for National Safe Boating Week demonstration, which will be both in water and on the shore.
The public and media are invited to help to the hands-on exercises. Boaters can shoot flares, use marine fire extinguishers and watch a person jump into the Caloosahatchee to demonstrate how inflatable personal flotation devices (PFDs) work. Task force members urge all boaters to set a good example by wearing life jackets at all times.
National Safe Boating Week 2009 is May 16-22. The Lee County Marine Law Enforcement Task Force and Marine Emergency Response Team are supporting Florida’s “Wear It” campaign, with a goal of increasing the number of recreational boaters who consistently wear life jackets. For more information, go to www.wearitflorida.com/index.htm
The task force, which was formed in 2003, includes members from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Myers Police Department, Cape Coral Police Department, Sanibel Police Department, U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Marlin, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Department of Environmental Protection Division of Law Enforcement, United States Power Squadrons, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.