2 minute read
Greg Fonzeno
BY GREG FONZENO
Georgia boaters, mark your calendar: May 21-27 has been designated National Safe Boating Week, the unofficial beginning of the boating season. While cruising on the lake is a time for fun and family, it’s also a time for care and safety.
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File a float plan. Whenever you go boating, always let someone know where you are going and when you plan to return. If something should happen, you can’t be rescued if no one knows where to search. Always prepare a float plan before your departure. The plan should include the type, length and color of the boat; registration number and name; description and license plate number of your car; name of the marina or launch ramp where it’s parked; number of people on board; when you’re leaving and returning; and your route. Leave the plan with a good friend or family member; the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies will not take it. They do the rescue part. Your friend or relative will have to call the appropriate authorities to rescue you, and the float plan will tell them where to look.
Take a boating education class. Knowing the “rules of the road” on the water keeps everyone safe. Coast Guard statistics indicate that of the accidents where the level of operator education was known, 80% of boating deaths occurred on boats where the operator never received boating education. Also, state law requires anyone born after Jan. 1, 1998, to complete a boating education course before operating any motorized vessel on Georgia waters.
Always wear a life jacket. Many of us might remember the large, bulky life jackets that were so cumbersome. Things have changed. Today’s life jackets are lightweight, good-looking, colorful and comfortable. While their look is different, their purpose isn’t – they still save lives. In the past five years, 21 people have drowned in Lake Allatoona, and none of those victims was wearing a life jacket. Georgia law requires boaters to have one Coast Guard-approved life jacket for each person on board. Life jackets must properly fit each passenger and be worn at all times while on the boat. If you find yourself in the water, it is impossible to grab your life jacket and put it on while struggling to stay afloat.
For information about boating education classes, email the Lake Allatoona Coast Guard Auxiliary at flotilla22pe@gmail.com.
Greg Fonzeno is the public education officer and vice commander of the local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Unit (Flotilla 22) at Allatoona Lake.
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