What is safe boating?
Our local bays and waterways are wonderful resources for fishing and all water sports, but far too often we hear news of accidents and injuries ruining someone’s day. From time to time I want to offer ideas and practices to help make our underway recreation safer for each of us.
Areas for consideration will include launch and recovery of your boat, proper operation, safety equipment, safe navigation of local waters, safe fishing practices and skill development on the water.
I would start by defining safe boating as spending a planned time on the water having fun and returning with the same number of people without leaving too much DNA on the boat! Remember, if it’s not fun it’s not recreation!
One of the best steps you can take is to seek out a Vessel Safety Check. This is an inspection of your boat’s equipment, general condition and documents by a Coast Guard Auxiliary member trained to help you avoid a ticket by a Law Enforcement Officer. The inspections are free. Problems found are not reported to anyone but the boat owner or operator so that they can be corrected. These inspections are offered periodically at our local boat ramps or you may contact this writer to obtain a schedule. It is very embarrassing to get a ticket from Texas Parks and Wildlife Officers and certainly reduces the fun factor!
Next week we will discuss boat ramp protocol and some common injuries that occur before we even get started on the water.
To contact Capt. Chuck to make arrangements for a Vessel Safety Check:
- go to Contact page
- enter Vessel Safety Check in Comment
My Coastal World 