This year’s Boat Show has been canceled, but the need for boater safety never goes away | Opinion

Even though the Miami International Boat Show will not be taking place this year — for the first time in 33 years — the Sea Tow Foundation, a nationwide nonprofit organization dedicated to spreading awareness of safe boating practices, wants to share this important message: Wear your life jacket when on the water. It could save your life.

The Sea Tow Foundation has attended the Miami Boat Show for the past 12 years and has provided loaner life jackets to attendees during the last four. We made free life jackets available to any adult or child who wanted to borrow one while at the show,walking the docks and looking at boats. Our volunteers and staff shared the importance of wearing life jackets.

We take our role in life-jacket education most seriously.

Last summer, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people went boating as a way to meet social-distancing regulations while still being able to have fun and socialize. However, having more guests on board often means not having enough life jackets for everyone. In fact, it is common for boat owners to only have adult-size life jackets and forget that kids need to have a smaller size. Still, boaters hosted more friends and families on their boats this summer.

The Sea Tow Foundation’s Life Jacket Loaner Program provided thousands of life jackets that boaters of all ages could borrow, then return.

In its most recent annual report, the U.S. Coast Guard reported that, nationally, 82 percent of boaters who drowned likely would have survived had they been wearing a life jacket; and, in Florida, where more than 900,000 boats are registered, the need for life-jacket awareness is dramatically higher. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported that 88 percent of drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket. Many of these boaters had life jackets in their boat, but were not wearing them. They were unable to reach them in time when an emergency happened. This is why it is critical to wear a life jacket whenever on the water.

In the Miami-Dade area, there are nine Sea Tow Foundation loaner stations providing the opportunity for boaters, or anyone spending time around the water, to borrow a life jacket for the day and return it when finished. The stations are managed by Sea Tow Miami and Sea Tow Key Biscayne, which also provides on-water assistance to boaters in need. Additional stations in the area are operated by groups of volunteers who promote boating safety in their communities. Each loaner station carries life jackets ranging in size from infant through adult. The nationwide life jacket loaner program has over 750 locations, 144 of which are in Florida. Anyone can locate a loaner station at: www.boatingsafety.com/map.

Though this year’s Miami International Boat Show will not take place this year, boating is not canceled. It is a wonderful activity for the family and provides plenty of ways to naturally social distance from others. While we encourage people to get out on the water and enjoy the fresh air, we remind boaters and passengers alike to wear a life jacket. It could save lives.

We are looking forward being of service Feb. 17-21, 2022 at the Miami International Boat Show at its new location. In the meantime, don’t forget to wear your life jacket on the water. You can borrow one for free from the Sea Tow Foundation or purchase one, but the best life jacket is the one that you will wear.

Gail R. Kulp is the executive director of the Sea Tow Foundation. Captain Eduardo Barreto is the owner of Sea Tow Key Biscayne.

This story was originally published January 28, 2021 at 2:49 PM.