Captain Sandy Yawn, Below Deck Mediterranean, has some safe boating tips. First, she says is check the weather. A lot of people will just load up the boat and they go out and they forget to check the weather. That’s important because the weather can come up quick and fast and it can kill your day.
Second make sure you have your inspections on board; your fire extinguishers and life vests. Make sure there is a life vest for everyone on the boat. If you get pulled over, they count that, and they can pull you back to the dock.
Make sure your vessel is insured incase you get run aground, because not everyone is paying attention. You want to make sure you are paying attention but if you do run aground, having insurance makes a difference because is it going to come out of your pocket, or their pocket says Captain Sandy. She says she would rather have her insurance company pay instead of paying out of her pocket.
Captain Sandy says people are excited to get on the boat and rightfully so, but they forget to do basic things before you do that. She says be prepared before you get in the boat, fire extinguishers, inspect your life vests and make sure you have one for everyone, and have a radio for communication. Make sure you understand where the markers are. Basically, learn your chart. Everyone should have a boating education side. Know what side of the marker you should be on, the red or the green. She says on the east coast of Florida it is red right return and in different parts of the world they have two different buoy systems so learn that.
Be prepared. Make sure you have water on board and sunscreen because you want to enjoy your day. She says little things really make a difference.
For more information visit the National Marine Manufacturers Association at nmma.org.
