Don’t Drown, Please

May 8, 2025

Safe Boating Awareness Week (this year May 17 -23) is a somewhat understated name for a critically important concept.  Clearly, safe boating extends all year. Falling over the side and drowning or having a nasty collision is a very bad idea any week.

The Canadian Safe Boating Council’s aim is to motivate you about safe boating and the council does it every year. While talking about boating safety is something of a downer, avoiding the discussion is diametrically worse.

To be fair, you already know all the important info. The five steps they recommend on their site are all very common sense. The problem, of course, is that while everyone knows the right thing to do, not everyone does the right thing.

I am not much for karen-ing but the numbers are clear. Of drowning deaths reported from all causes (swimming, bathtubs, falling through ice), boating appears to account for 25% – something like 100 per year nationally. Completely unnecessary.

Digging through the OnBoard archives for some information the other day I came across this photo of Jan and Bill Stover that they submitted as a Photo of the Week a couple of years ago. Not models in Salus or Mustang ads, these boaters are the real thing aboard their dinghy just off Beausoleil Island. Veteran boaters with a nice boat and likely a lot of experience. They are comfortable in their PFDs, wearing them rather than sitting on them aboard the dinghy.

It doesn’t take but a moment to put yours on and the stats show not wearing a lifejacket is the number one cause drownings (around 80%).  So, use Safe Boating Week to give yourself a start-of-the season pep talk to ensure that you and everyone on board has a safe summer.

John Morris, Online Editor