Are You A Safe Boater?

Becoming a safe boater takes courage. Maybe not the same courage that it takes to join the armed forces or to skydive, but being a safe boater requires the type of courage that it takes to make a serious change in your lifestyle. It doesn’t matter if you’re a seasoned professional who has been traversing the high seas for decades or if you just hit the water for the first time. You need the courage to say to yourself, “I need to practice safe boating skills, no matter what!”

Here’s a short safe boating quiz that will help you determine how much you know, or don’t know…

1. If you are running offshore at a high rate of speed and your vessel is being overtaken, what should do you do?
A. Move to starboard
B. Jump off the boat
C. Hold a steady course and speed
D. None of the above

2. What does a white buoy with a blue band mark?
A. Channel marker
B. Nearby restaurant
C. Mooring Buoy
D. None of the above

3. When you are steering on a pair of range lights and the upper light is above the lower light, what should you do?
A. Move to port
B. Return to port
C. Continue on present course
D. None of the above

4. What do red and white vertically striped buoy markers indicate?
A. Dangerous shoal
B. Safe-water mark
C. Channel marker
D. None of the above

5. When displayed under and on either side of a single-span fixed bridge, what do red lights indicate?
A. Oncoming traffic is approaching from the other side
B. Channel boundaries
C. Bridge is about to open
D. None of the above

6. If you see a red, green and white light, what should you do?
A. Stop and anchor
B. Give way
C. Run for your life
D. None of the above

7. If you are approaching a vessel from dead astern and desire to overtake on the vessel's starboard side, what whistle signal should you sound?
A. One short blast
B. Two prolonged blast
C. Three short blasts
D. None of the above

8. How far must you stay away from a diver-down flag?
A. 300-feet
B. 30-feet
C. 3,000-feet
D. None of the above

9. Is it a Federal requirement to have a VHF radio?
A. Only on vessels over 16-feet
B. Yes
C. No, but a VHF radio is a safety feature that every boater should utilize
D. None of the above

10. You’re in a thick fog bank in your 18-foot flats skiff. Do you need to sound fog signals?
A. No
B. Yes, signals must be made in intervals not exceeding two-minutes
C. Yes, signals must be made in intervals not exceeding 30-seconds
D. None of the above

So, how did you do? If you answered three or more questions incorrectly, I suggest you enroll in a safe boating course conducted by the Coast Guard Auxiliary. However, don’t just stop after this introductory course. The Coast Guard Auxiliary offers courses on basic and advanced seamanship, coastal navigation, weather and GPS usage. You’re probably thinking, “Why do I need these additional courses?”

The answer is simple – knowledge is power. The more you know, the safer of a boater you can be.

You need to understand weather patterns because getting caught in a relatively small craft during a nasty squall is not a pleasant or safe experience. Seamanship skills will teach you docking, rules of the road (COLREGS) and proper VHF radio procedures. Navigation will teach you how to plot a course from Point A to Point B, as well as helping you understand tides and currents and how each effect not only your course, but also your fuel consumption. You will also gain a full understanding on how you are supposed to properly use your global positioning system. I had a friend who was a novice boater tell me about this fancy hand-held GPS he had just purchased. He said, “I input where I want to go and follow the heading that it tells me. I don’t need anything else!”

I guess he was unaware that the fancy GPS he just purchased doesn’t know that between you and your destination there could very well be islands, underwater obstructions, shoals, etc. Our friendship didn’t last long…nor did his boating career after he ran aground one too many times.

Safe Boating Tips

• Always wear a life jacket. With the advent of compact, inflatable life jackets, you can comfortably wear a life jacket all day and show others that you are making a conscious effort toward being a safe boater.
• Check the marine weather forecast before you cast off to make sure the winds, seas and expected changes are in your comfort zone. While on the water, constantly survey the sky for telltale signs of impending weather changes.
• Monitor VHF channel 16 for emergency traffic, urgent marine information broadcasts and marine assistance request broadcasts.
• File a float plan (www.FloatPlanCentral.org) with a friend, neighbor or dockmaster. Indicate your intended destination, estimated time of arrival and instructions in case something goes a miss.
• Get a Vessel Safety Check from the Coast Guard Auxiliary to make sure you have all the required safety equipment onboard.
• Periodically check the expiration dates on your flares.
• Routinely check the bilge to make sure it is dry and clean.

Safe boating consists of lots of small details that require a combined effort to prioritize and act upon. It takes courage to re-think your boating experiences and to take the steps toward truly understanding what it takes to make boating safe. Start today by enrolling in your first boating course. Go to ff.cgaux.org to contact your local Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla.