Kayaks, canoes, stand-up paddleboards, personal watercraft, fishing boats, ski boats and other recreational watercraft have one important requirement in common: Life jackets.
Think you can go “natural” and grab a stashed life jacket in an emergency? Think again: Accidents on the water happen way too quickly for boaters to be able to reach for the ones that are stored in a cabinet or under a seat.
During National Safe Boating Week, May 16 to 22, organizers want all boaters to wear their life jackets next week and throughout the 2009 boating season, which is just around the corner with the arrival of summer.
Along with the National Safe Boating Council and its affiliates, the City of Santa Barbara Waterfront Department urges the consistent use of life jackets.
Consider these statistics:
» There will be an estimated 600 boating fatalities in 2009;
» Two-thirds of all boating fatalities are from drowning;
» 90 percent of those who drowned while boating in 2007 were not wearing a life jacket.
New styles of life jackets are comfortable, lightweight and perfect for any boating activity. Celebrate the start of the boating season by wearing your life jacket at all times and ask your friends and family to do the same.
— Noozhawk staff writer Laurie Jervis can be reached at ljervis@noozhawk.com.