Insight from the President

January 25^th to February 2^nd is the Great Seattle Boat Show. We’ll be at the South Lake Union floating show. Set aside these dates. More next month.

Imagine a beautiful sunny day on the water. You, your family and friends are spending a quality time boating. Suddenly the owner of the boat has a heart attack or an accident. What do you do?

Life happens, sometimes it happens on a beautiful day on the water, sometimes at the most inopportune time when the winds are raging and the waves are high. Would your crew or guests be prepared to take over the boat? It’s unfortunate that many people incorrectly assume that driving a boat is like driving a car when something bad happens you simply call 911. But it’s a different story on the water when time may mean the difference between life and death in a crisis situation. That’s why it is so important that you review the basics of boating with everyone before you leave the dock. This includes the location of PFDs, fire extinguishers, emergency signaling devices, how to work the VHF radio, how to lower the anchor, and how to operate the boat should they find themselves “suddenly in command”.

The good news is the Coast Guard Auxiliary offers an excellent 4 hour course titled “Suddenly in Command” which is designed for those not generally at the helm(the course will also provide value to new boaters as well). This safety primer teaches attendees the basics of boat handling and what to do in case of an emergency because everyone on board needs to know how to start the boat, shift it, steer it and stop it as well as how to pick up a person in the water because delays can quickly turn catastrophic.

Horror stories abound and if you don’t want to be that person who didn’t know how to run the boat or just didn’t find the time to review this information with your crew and guests you and your crew need to take this course.

For more information about safe boating courses, contact the United States Coast Guard at www.uscg.mil or the United Sates Auxiliary Flotilla at www.cgaux.org .