MIAMI — The Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, City of Miami Fire-Rescue and Biscayne National Park will hold a Columbus Day weekend boating safety press conference at 9 a.m. Friday at Coast Guard Base Miami Beach Friday.
Local first responders will be discussing the importance of boating safety ahead of the upcoming Columbus Day weekend – one of the busiest recreational boating weekends in South Florida. Spokespeople will also discuss important safety regulations that will be enforced throughout the holiday weekend.
Each year thousands of boaters take to the South Florida waters over the Columbus Day weekend. While fatalities over the long weekend have decreased over the last two years, Florida led the nation in boating fatalities and injuries in 2013. Boater inexperience and alcohol were two of the leading contributors to boating accidents and fatalities last year.
Boaters can help ensure a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend by following these helpful tips:
1. Don't drink and boat. Be responsible with drinks aboard. Designate a "sober skipper" before departing the dock.
2. Check your safety gear to ensure it works. File a float plan with a friend or at a marina. A float plan form can be found at www.floatplancentral.org. Remember to wear your lifejackets and make sure you have flares and a working VHF-FM marine radio onboard. Another potentially life-saving device to invest in is an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB).
3. Take responsible actions if boating at night, such as ensuring vessels are well lit and reducing operating speeds.
4. Groundings are costly to your boat, your engine, and the environment. To avoid groundings make sure to have navigational charts or an electronic navigation system onboard and learn to properly use them before you head out on the water.
5. Help protect marine life, the environment and your vessel by disposing of garbage properly. Litter in the water not only damages the marine environment and wildlife, but can also become lodged in vessel engines and mechanical systems causing extensive damage.
Members of the media wishing to attend the press conference or to schedule interviews with Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary representatives are asked to RSVP with the Coast Guard 7th District public affairs office at 305-542-8127.