Stratford Star

Agencies stress safe boating as summer arrives

Written by John Kovach
Thursday, 26 May 2011 08:12

Memorial Day weekend will bring the unofficial launch of summer. If spring burns through the clouds, those desperate for time outside could head to the water.

And if they’re not prepared, experts warn, they could head into trouble.

“Some are engine powered, some are sail driven, and some are paddled,” Waterfront & Harbor Management Commission Chairman Bill Rock said Monday. “Regardless of the vessel, the motivation is still enjoyment. However, because it’s so enjoyable sometimes the inherent dangers of a marine environment are lowered in priority as not to interfere with having a good time. You can do both.”

Harbormaster Ross Hatfield stressed a common theme: Always wear a life jacket.

He displayed a clipping from a Sunday newspaper ad to illustrate that for a few hundred dollars, someone can buy a kayak and get in the water “with no experience, no knowledge of currents, no idea what to do.”

Rock was master of ceremonies at Stratford’s annual launch of Safe Boating Week, held at the Birdseye Boat Ramp.

The event brings together the agencies responsible for water safety on Long Island Sound and the Housatonic River off Stratford: the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Stratford Police Department, Stratford Fire Department, and the harbormaster.

Safety and seamanship education, proper safety equipment and safe boating habits, Rock said, are “the responsibility of every individual who owns and operates a watercraft of any size, or anyone who is guest or passenger onboard a vessel. In other words, the first line of defense against a boating-related accident is the responsibility of every individual.”

Helping provide that preparation are the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary, which offers classes at its Birdseye headquarters. Classes start with obtaining a safe boating certificate, but continue with charts and navigation, Paddle Sports America, GPS operation, and weather.

“Education shouldn’t stop at formal classes just for boat operators to get their safe boating certificate,” Rock said. “Everyone who boards a vessel, even as a passenger or guest of a boat owner, should learn basic water safety knowledge. It can, and will, save your life.”

Boaters need to obtain, maintain and know how to operate safety equipment, Rock said, including life jackets, radios, lights, and horns or whistles.

“If you want, your vessel may be inspected free of charge to make sure you have at least the minimum amount of safety,” Rock said.

Donna Bisson, commander of the local Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla, said members can perform safety inspections before vessels are launched.

Safe boating habits, Rock said, include knowing how to operate and navigate a boat, and what to do in an emergency.

He and acting police Chief Patrick Ridenhour both urged boaters not to drink alcoholic beverages while operating.

Ridenhour said the Police Department’s boat can patrol both Long Island Sound and the Housatonic River, perform search and rescue, even get a SWAT team onto the water.

Stratford police also have operational control of the helicopter Eagle 1, Ridenhour said, and are requesting federal money to help cover those costs.

When Stratford police received their new boat, their old vessel was modified to meet firefighters’ needs.

Interim fire Chief Brian Lampart said a crew on duty at all times can respond to the launch and perform a water rescue, if needed.

Jean Trapani, a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary and former Appalachian Mountain Club Flatwater Coastal Paddling chairman, displayed two of her kayaks and demonstrated life jackets, whistles and other safety equipment.

Hatfield had displayed an ID sticker now required on paddle craft. Trapani affixed hers to her boat at the event.

The stickers are in part required by Homeland Security, Hatfield said, to be able to identify small vessels.

“Over the past decade, paddle boating has increased by nearly 300%,” Rock said. “Nationally, paddle-craft fatalities account for nearly 40% of all boating deaths; 80% of nonmotorized vessel fatalities are a result of capsizing or a fall overboard and sudden cold-water immersion. Ninety percent of these deaths occurred when people were not wearing life jackets. And this year, considering the economy and fuel prices, there is the potential for more people to turn toward the use of paddle-powered vessels.”

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