Boating Safety Is No Joke
Governments and organizations the world over proclaim all kinds of commemorative days and weeks. Some of these are as recognizable in name as they are for their intended purpose. Examples include National Non-Smoking Week, National Organ and Tissue Donor Awareness Week, National Hurricane Preparedness Week and National Mental Health Week.
But some commemorations of the calendar are less well known and seemingly created either to benefit special interests more than the public good, or to decry another special interest’s interests. It all depends upon your point of view.
For instance, the UK’s National Farmhouse Breakfast Week seems to celebrate eggs and bacon, while conflicting with the objectives of the Brits behind National Cholesterol Week. On the other hand, it might be a good thing that Planned Parenthood-promoted National Condom Week overlaps with National Date Week, until you discover that the latter refers to the fruit and not the typical mating ritual.
In May, there’s nothing to poke fun at. The United States commemorates National Safe Boating Week. The program’s slogan is “Wear It,” a call-to-action intended to get boaters to wear life jackets (otherwise known as PFDs; most aren’t jackets at all). There’s little questioning the sagacity of this advice. Boating fatalities jumped 12 percent in 2011, according to the most recent statistics from the United States Coast Guard, and a huge percentage of those boaters who died drowned — and were not wearing a life jacket.
We’re commemorating National Safe Boating Week with a variety of content dedicated to boating safety. In our May 2013 issue you’ll find the information you need to deal with, and prevent, emergencies of every sort, from man overboard to fire aboard to electrical shock hazards afloat. Boatingmag.com features a special landing page that sorts boating safety articles in one place for quick reference. We’re also sending out a Boating Safety Special to our e-newsletter subscribers, and on our social media channels, we’ll be keeping you up to the minute with boating safety tips, reminders and happenings.
If you’re a regular reader, or regular fan, follower or friend on Boating‘s digital channels, you know that we produce boating safety content each and every month. We believe safety is an integral part of the sport. And we further believe that one of the biggest keys to achieving safe boating is for boaters to think safety first.
