Slight decrease in fatalities compared to 2021; 74% on vessels operated by skipper lacking safety instruction The U.S. Coast Guard reported that there were 636 boating fatalities nationwide in 2022, a 3.3 percent decrease from the 658 deaths in 2021. From 2021 to 2022, the total number of accidents decreased 9 percent (4,439 to 4,040),…
NTSB Faults Both USCG Cutter And Private Center Console Fishing Skippers A fatal collision last August off Puerto Rico serves as a reminder to all skippers that maintaining a proper lookout at all times is a critical responsibility of the captain of the vessel. On Aug. 8, 2022, the USCGC Winslow Griesser, a 154-foot fast…
Is your cockpit truly self-draining? Some decks are well above the load waterline and appear to be self-bailing. Yet in truth the deck drains lead to hoses that drain into the bilge and not overboard. While this keeps you from having wet feet in the cockpit, this design is not actually self-bailing. Disaster awaits boats…
A costly event occurred on Lake Keowee at High Falls Park public dock on the afternoon of the eclipse. Involved were the pontoon Big Easy and the cruiser Take Two. Damage to Big Easy was caused by a wake boat passing too close to a landing and public dock in a cove. As the Big…
After some recent outings on rough or rapidly moving water, I have been thinking about those comfortable and convenient inflatable life jackets. It seems that are at least two types, namely, those that require the wearer to activate inflation and those that detect the water and self-inflate. If you were suddenly ejected from your boat,…
Capt. Robert McCullough of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources said sheriff’s deputies and representatives of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were training together on Lake Hartwell when Hodges was critically injured about 9:30 a.m. “It appears that three people were ejected from a boat and that the empty boat came back around…
“Who cares if I throw a little wake inside the Idle Zone buoy? The lake itself sends waves in there all the time anyway. What harm can it possibly do? Just another example of hyper-regulation and the government’s greed for fines and fees, if you ask me.” “Who cares if I throw a little wake…