"Time
to bone up on boating safety."
Author - John E. Brady, Hanover PA-USA
Copyright 2001
e-mail - jeb@jebswebsite.com
With the coming of March, so comes the advent of a new fishing and boating season. The start of a new season brings renewed expectations of a better and more successful year than the past for all of us.
Hard-core tournament fisherman see the first of March as the start of the new fishing season. Although there are typically no tournaments scheduled until the third or fourth week of the month, most use these first few weeks to get their rigs out of mothballs and head to the lake to hone the dull edge off their rusty winter laden skills in preparation of the first tournament.
With this in mind, I thought it prudent to take time to touch on some safe boating and fishing etiquette tips. Unfortunately, as I have observed over the years, all of us seem to forget some of these rules of the road from time to time. And while some appear to be common sense, as well as the law, once on the water they seem to be laid aside or forgotten. This article will touch on some boating safety issues, the next will cover some of the written as well as unwritten fishing etiquette tips.
One of the most obvious safety measures we can take while on the water is to wear Personal Flotation Devices (PFD's). The operative word here is WEAR. While the regulations (1997) stipulate that only children ages 12 and under must be wearing a PFD while the boat is underway, it is advisable for all occupants to be wearing them. I think I can be safe in saying that in all fishing tournaments this is required. However I also recommend it in all boating situations whether in a sanctioned tournament, or simply out fishing for fun. As the slogan for the safety council says "...They don't work, if you don't wear 'em".
Whenever underway, all occupants must be seated down inside the boat. While this sounds obvious, it's all too common to see occupants riding on a raised front seat or hanging out over the side or front of a boat while it's underway.
Navigation rules have to be the most neglected or misunderstood of all boating regulations. Approaching and passing other boats must be done with certainty in order to avoid accidents. It's simple, you pass an oncoming boat the same as you pass an oncoming vehicle, on the right side. Just imagine a yellow line on the water to the left of your boat. I still have nightmares about some of my boating experiences on the water with oncoming boats when I literally had to stop dead in the water because the other boater was wavering and didn't know which side he wanted to or should pass me on.
Another neglected or misunderstood safety regulation concerns boat "wake". A"wake" is the waves generated by a boat while underway. There should be no misunderstanding whatsoever, you are responsible for your own boats wake. This could be for any problem created by your wake from capsizing another boat, to causing a shore disturbance and anything in between. You are responsible.
These are just a few boating safety tips to think about. Check your boating handbook for any and all regulations and be as familiar with them as you are familiar with your fishing tactics. Safe boating must be taken seriously by everyone to ensure all of us have a very save and non-eventful boating experience as well as a successful fishing season this year.
The Coast Guard sponsors boating courses and boat safety checks each year. I encourage anyone young or old, new to boating or an old timer who is serious about being safety conscience to take these courses. Check with them or your local tackle shop for the next scheduled courses.
"After all they call it fishing, but the goal is catching."