NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — As the weather warms up, more folks are getting out on the water, and while time in the boat can be a lot of fun, it can also be quite dangerous.
National Boating Safety Week starts Monday and Captain Gary Ranatza with the national boat tow and water assistance company, Sea Tow, spoke about some of the most common mistakes boaters make.
“Some of the issues that we have out there is some people do not look at the weather before they go out or the tides. Out in this area if the tides go out, and they go out a lot at least in the winter time. You’re able to get a ground and you’ll be calling us to come get you,” said Ranatza.
Ranatza also spoke to the importance of a pre-launch game plan, “If you have someone with you on the boat you have to have a plan of action if something happens, what are you going to do, what am I going to do.”
Paul Barnard is the Recreational Boating Safety Specialist of the Coast Guard’s 8th District, and he spelled out the biggest pitfalls on the water, “The greatest danger in boating very simply not being on a boat anymore whether from falls overboard, intentional departure, ejections, capsizing and swamping.”
Barnard pointed out a number of Coast Guard-approved flotation devices, “A type one provides the most buoyancy. A type two, a little less. A type three is comfortable enough for most boaters to wear. A type four is the kind you would throw to someone who fell in the water and I’m actually wearing a type five, which is the most comfortable device but also the least protective.”
Life jackets don’t cover all safety measures. What’s most important is how one behaves on the water.
“We often find that it’s impairment, or bad judgment as you mention that wind up putting people in the water. We preach total abstinence on the part of the operator and even for passengers we encourage moderation,” said Barnard.
Check out the Coast Guard Safe Boating group on Facebook.
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