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Boating Safety
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With National Safe Boating Week coming up this month, we want to talk about life jackets. As boaters, we should all know the importance of wearing our life jackets. Safety advocates recommend everyone wear a life jacket at all times while on the water. However, the US Coast Guard requires anyone under the age of 13 to wear a life jacket at all times when the boat is underway.
When picking a life jacket for yourself or your child, there are 4 key things to remember.
First, look at the label to ensure it is a USCG approved jacket.
Second , check the size on the label. Life jackets are sized by weight and chest size so ensure you or your child fit into the restrictions of the life jacket.
Third, try the jacket on. Buckle or zip the jacket and make sure the straps are snug. Pull up on the shoulders of the jacket from behind to ensure it does not go above the chin or the ears. If it does, then it is too big, and you should go down a size.
Fourth, test the life jacket in the water to see how well it floats. Getting a life jacket that fits properly is critical for safety.
What if you get to the lake and you realize you’ve forgotten your life jackets? The Sea Tow Foundation has several donor life jacket stations all over the lake. You can simply borrow the jacket(s) you need for the day and return them when you are finished.
The following locations are stocked with life jackets from The Sea Tow Foundation
Life Jacket Loaner Program:
1. Cricket Creek Marina
2. Long Creek
3. Old Highway 86
4. State Park Marina
5. Moonshine Beach
6. Indian Point
7. Port of Kimberling Resort and Marina
8. Aunts Creek
9. Mill Creek
10. Joe Bald
11. Baxter Marina
12. Campbell Point
13. Cape Fair
Always remember to choose the right life jacket:
• Wear it: the best jacket is one you will wear!
• Activity: should be appropriate for the activity
• Fit: snug fit with all buckles, straps, zip pers secure
• Condition: jackets with tears, broken pieces, or buoyancy loss should be dis posed of life will the zipbroken disboatthese,
Life jackets save lives! 81% of all fatal boat ing accident victims drowned. Of these, 83% were not wearing a life jacket.
