Three additional boater safety courses like the one conducted Saturday at the local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary office, 7490 Edgewater Ave., Huntsville, will be offered yet this summer, as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Watercraft along with the coast guard auxiliary remind boaters to take all necessary precautions before and during a trip out on the lake.
From the left: Anita Daniel demonstrates proper life jacket safety with Will Lowery and Nate Hardy during an About Boater Safety Course conducted Saturday at the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, 7490 Edgewater Ave., Huntsville. (EXAMINER PHOTO | NATE SMITH)
“No one expects that someone in their family or community will be injured or killed in a boating accident. Yet each year, lives are still lost, adults and children are injured and property is damaged,” according to the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary office of public affairs.
Proper boating safety begins with awareness and preparedness, local coast guard auxiliary members reported Saturday during the About Boating Safety Class — awareness about the potential hazards out on the lake, and preparedness for how to deal with them, instructors said.
Details including the importance of not just wearing a life jacket, but doing so properly were explained. Also, knowing the weather forecast, timing of potential storms and water temperature are likewise vital pieces of information to know prior to taking off on the lake, class attendees were told.
Drowning was reported as the cause of death in about 76 percent of all boating-related fatalities since 2017, according to statistics from the U.S. Coast Guard.
Approximately 85 percent of all people who drowned were not wearing their life jackets.
Fatalities since 2017 have numbered 658, and of those victims, 449 drowned.
In addition to ensuring proper life jacket safety, waterproof emergency kits containing matches, a pealess whistle, first aid kit, bottled water and dry clothing are also considered essential to have on board any watercraft.
Read complete story in Monday’s Examiner.
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