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ACE Recreational Marine InsuranceTop Ten Recreational Boating Tips

Summer 2011

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ACE Private Risk Services

Top Ten Recreational Boating Tips from ACE Recreational Marine Insurance

• ACE Recreational Marine Insurance, one of the nation’s largest recreational marine insurance providers, and part of the ACE Group, has again released its top ten list detailing tips to help recreational boaters stay safe, thus potentially reducing the number of preventable accidents that may occur each year.

• Recreational boating activity soars during warm weather months - and so do boating incidents and injuries

• The U.S. Coast Guard’s “Boating Statistics 2009,” the most recent year available, reports:– 4,800 boating accidents– 3,400 people required medical treatment beyond first aid – 736 people died – Property damages of approximately $36 million

• Though the statistics are sobering, the risk of boating injuries and accidents can be minimized. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the vast majority of reported incidents involved factors that were within the control of boat operators.

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Imagine the mayhem that would result if car drivers disregarded highway traffic laws. Know and understand boating safety procedures and rules of navigation before taking to the water, and practice them without fail.

#1: Understand and obey boating safety recommendations and navigational rules

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Approximately 75 percent of all fatal boating accident victims drowned in 2009. Eighty-four percent of those who drowned were not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD) or life jacket, and 7 out of 10 boaters who drowned were on vessels less than 21 feet. Always have an adequate supply of personal flotation devices aboard. Make sure that children are wearing appropriate life jackets that fit correctly.

#2 : Always wear a life jacket and insist that your crew and guests do the same

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Cold water accelerates the onset and progression of hypothermia since body heat can be lost 25 times faster in cold water than in cold air. The closer you are to rescue support, the better your chances are. Boaters can be at risk of hypothermia in warm waters as well. To learn about hypothermia risk factors and how to better your chances of survival, visit: http://seagrant.umn.edu/coastal_communities/hypothermia.

#3: Hypothermia is a significant risk factor for injury or even death while boating

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Eighty-six percent of all reported boating fatalities in 2009 occurred on boats where the operator had not completed a boating safety course.1 You may even qualify for a reduced insurance rate if you complete a safety course. Contact your local Coast Guard Auxiliary, United States Power Squadron chapter,2 or visit http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/boating_safety_courses_.aspxfor information on courses in your area.

#4: Operator errors account for 70 percent of boating accidents – take a boating safety course

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

All internal combustion engines emit carbon monoxide, an odorless, tasteless, colorless, poisonous gas that can make you sick in seconds and kill in minutes. Carbon Monoxide symptoms are similar to seasickness or alcohol intoxication, and can affect you whether you are underway, moored or anchored. To learn more carbon monoxide sickness and how to keep you and others safe, visit www.uscg.boating.org/safety/carbon_monoxide.aspx.

#5: Use a carbon monoxide (CO) detector. Carbon Monoxide can harm and even kill you inside or on the deck of your boat

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Alcohol use is the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents, and the leading factor in 16 percent of all boating deaths in 2009. Stay sharp on the water by leaving the alcohol on dry land.

#6: Never drink alcohol while boating

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

A calm day can quickly turn ugly on the water. Keep an eye out for changing weather conditions and stay on top of the forecast while boating. Promptly heed all weather and storm advisories. A reliable site for a marine weather forecast is as follows: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm while we recommend this site for float plans: http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/float_planning.aspx

#7: Check the weather forecast

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Overall, operator inattention, operator inexperience, excess speed and improper outlook were the leading contributing factors in all reported accidents.1 Know your boat’s limitations as well as your own. Take note of visibility, traffic density and the proximity of navigation hazards like shoals, rocks or floating objects. Don’t invite a collision by going faster than is prudent.

#8: Operate at a safe speed and always maintain a careful lookout

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

The U.S. Coast Guard recommends that you always tell a friend or family member where you plan to go and when you’ll be back. Make it a habit before leaving on any boat trip. The proper officials can be notified promptly if you don’t return when expected.

#9: File a float plan

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Top Ten Recreational Boating Safety Tips

Boaters between the ages of 36 and 55 accounted for the highest rate of accidents, injuries and boating fatalities in 2009. Don’t forget that safety begins with you.

#10: Stay in control by taking charge of your safety and that of your passengers