ALCOAST 176/20 - MAY 2020 NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK

united states coast guard

R 151644 MAY 20
FM COMDT COGARD WASHINGTON DC//CG-5P//
TO ALCOAST
UNCLAS //N16210//
ALCOAST 176/20
COMDTNOTE 16210
SUBJ:  NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK
A. Recreational Boating Statistics, COMDTPUB P16754.29 (series)
1. National Safe Boating Week (NSBW) is Saturday, 16 May, through Friday, 22 May.
NSBW dates back to 1949, when Mr. Steve Sadowski, a Coast Guard Auxiliarist, helped
organize a Courtesy Marine Examination (now termed Vessel Safety Check) weekend,
which led to the idea of a Safe Boating Week. The message then is the same as it
is now: please boat safely. The two most important things you can do: wear a life
jacket and undergo a vessel safety check.
2. Year after year, the statistics stay alarmingly the same (REF (A)). Eighty percent
of boating deaths are from drownings, and eighty percent of drownings are persons
who are not wearing a life jacket. The Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety puts
out a weekly email, the Boating Accident Data or BADs report, that captures media
feeds from around the country of those who have been involved in a boating accident
in the previous week. For those who have died, that report unfortunately nearly
always includes the phrase, “was not wearing a life jacket.” Please don’t let a
moment’s inattention result in an impact that will last a lifetime. 
3. Obtaining a vessel safety check is not quite as easy as it normally would be
with the necessary precautions of COVID-19. However, the initiative of the Coast
Guard Auxiliary knows no bounds, and they have set up an interactive virtual vessel
safety check on the www.safetyseal.net site (see the selection on the menu to the
left). Again, please ensure that boaters know what safety requirements their boat
must meet.
4. REF (A) for the 2019 calendar year is soon to be released, and will be available
at: www.uscgboating.org under “Statistics”; and for the third straight year, boating
deaths have decreased (701, 633 and 613). This trend is positive, but to make the
next great jump, life jacket wear is the answer. As we enter the summer, please
enjoy the beauty that is our nation’s waterways, and make sure you and those around
you remain safe.
5. POC: Verne Gifford, COMDT (CG-BSX-2) at: (202) 372-1051 or Verne.B.Gifford2@uscg.mil.
6. RDML R. V. Timme, Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, sends.
7. Internet release is authorized.