Water Rules Knowing The Rules Will Help Keep You Safe On The Water And Let You Make The Most Of Your Boating Fun

From chugging beer at the helm to operating at top speeds, many boaters take risks that wind up causing serious injury and death. “Most surprising to me are the things people will do on the water that they would never think of doing on land,” said Capt. Tony Stimatz, chief of the Coast Guard’s office of Boating Safety.

Boating accidents killed 840 people in the United States last year, 60 more than in 1994, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. About 80 percent of boating fatalities could be avoided if boaters would take a few simple precautions and use common sense.

With boating season in full swing, it’s a good time to review these rules of water safety:

Rule No. 1: Boats, alcohol don’t mix

Alcohol is the leading cause of marine accidents, according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates transportation-related accidents.

Many people fail to take into account that simply being on the water affects the senses. “When you are out on a boat, the sun, the wind, the vibration and the movement can impair your reaction time to the point it would reach if you were legally drunk,” said Elaine Dickinson, chairman of the National Safe Boating Safety Council. “If you add alcohol on top of all these boating stressors, it has even more of an effect on your ability to react to certain situations. People don’t realize how much alcohol compounds these feelings on the water.”

Not only does alcohol affect judgment and impair reactions, but drinking on a hot summer day speeds alcohol’s effect on the body. Thus, one beer or one Bloody Mary can feel like two.

Alcohol also interferes with balance, which is essential for boat operators and passengers alike. And falling overboard after drinking can be especially dangerous because alcohol worsens the disorientation caused when water enters the inner ear.

Rule No. 2: Speed kills

Officials estimate that 21 million recreational vessels operate in U.S. waters. Among them are canoes and kayaks, catamarans and rowboats, cruising sailboats, inflatable boats, multimillion-dollar yachts and personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis, that skim across the water like a motorized water ski.

About 10 million recreational boats operated in the United States have motors, and about half are less than 16 feet long.

But changes in design, engines and the development of lightweight materials mean that a growing number of motorboats and motorized personal watercraft can easily reach speeds of 75 mph.

The risk of colliding with other boats also increases with speed. About one of every five fatal boating accidents involves a collision with an object in the water or with another vessel. Wakes from high speed vessels can also capsize smaller craft nearby.

Rule No. 3: Use life jackets

Federal law requires all vessels to carry a life jacket for each person aboard. Trouble is, most life preservers are not worn but stowed, where they can do little to help someone who falls overboard. An estimated 80 percent of boating fatality victims would have been saved from drowning if they had been wearing a life preserver.

Even the most experienced boaters can be caught unaware. Boating experts said that former CIA Director William Colby might have been saved from drowning had he been wearing a life jacket when he collapsed into the water in April. “If he had had a life jacket on, at least he would have been visible in the water,” Dickinson said. “We know that is where the fatalities are, and the really sad thing is that a lot of them are children.”

Rule No. 4: Learn the rules

Boats have become so accessible that it’s possible to charter a vessel and be on the water in minutes with no boating experience.

“They don’t know the rules of the ‘road,’ they don’t know port from starboard, they don’t know how to get a weather report or what personal flotation devices are required or how to get into them,” said William Gossard, a NTSB transportation safety specialist and author of a 1993 study on recreational boating safety.

That lack of marine knowledge shows up in some grim statistics. Nearly 80 percent of all boating fatalities occur on boats where the operator had no formal boating instruction, according to the latest Coast Guard accident figures.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Resources for would-be sailors Governmental agencies and private organizations are teaming up to help educate boaters about water safety, one way to reduce boating accidents. Information and classes are available, often at no charge, from: BOAT/U.S. Foundation for Boating Safety, 880 S. Pickett St., Alexandria, Va. 22304. Provides free pamphlets on boating safety, information on safety equipment testing, and offers information on free boating classes nationwide. (800) 336-2628. Boating Safety. Free booklet by the U.S. Coast Guard in conjunction with Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Phone: (800) METLIFE. National Safe Boating Council, P.O. Box 8510, Lexington, Ky. 40533. (606) 244-8242. Personal Watercraft Industry Association, 200 E. Randolph Drive, Suite 5100, Chicago, Ill. 60601. Publishes free booklets on personal watercraft (such as Jet Skis) and offers free video to rental operators on personal watercraft instruction. (312) 946-6200. United Safe Boating Institute, 1504 Blue Ridge Road, Raleigh, N.C. 27622. Provides information about boating safety. (919) 821-0281. U.S. Canoe Association Inc., 606 Ross St., Middletown, Ohio 45044-5062. Provides free pamphlet on safe canoeing and kayaking. (513) 422-3739. U.S. Coast Guard. Answers boating safety questions. The Coast Guard Auxiliary also provides free boating classes and conducts free boating safety inspections. (800) 368-5647. U.S. Sailing, P.O. Box 1260, 15 Maritime Drive, Portsmouth, R.I. 02871-6015. (401) 849-5200.