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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
St. Paul District
Programs & Project Management
332 Minnesota St., Suite E1500
St. Paul, MN 55101

(651) 290-5755

cemvp-pm@usace.army.mil

National Safe Boating Week is near

Published May 13, 2014
St. Paul District's Brad Labadie was out at Lake Minnetonka on April 26, 2014, to teach a little about water safety during the Victoria Lions Club's crappie fishing contest. Here, he's teaching a future water safety expert how to be a safe boater and to always wear your life jacket. The event was a fundraiser with all proceeds helping send 15 children to the American Diabetes Association's Camp Needlepoint in Hudson, Wis., for a week this summer.
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St. Paul District's Brad Labadie was out at Lake Minnetonka on April 26, 2014, to teach a little about water safety during the Victoria Lions Club's crappie fishing contest. Here, he's teaching a future water safety expert how to be a safe boater and to always wear your life jacket. The event was a fundraiser with all proceeds helping send 15 children to the American Diabetes Association's Camp Needlepoint in Hudson, Wis., for a week this summer.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is asking all boaters to help support National Safe Boating Week May 17 –23, by practicing water safety in all your water-related recreation activities.

National Safe Boating Week is the official launch of the 2014 Safe Boating Campaign. This yearlong campaign promotes safe and responsible boating and the value of wearing a life jacket by recreational boaters. With the start of the summer recreation season just around the corner, the Corps urges people to remember and practice safe boating while on the water.

Before casting off for a day on the water, boaters should take appropriate precautions. File a float plan with a friend or family, get a vessel safety check and take a boating safety course. Boaters should also check the weather forecast and make sure everyone onboard is wearing the correct type and fit of life jacket.  

Boaters can also develop “boater’s hypnosis,” a condition in response to sun, wind, noise, vibration and motion, which causes fatigue and slows your reaction time. Combining this condition with alcohol or drugs greatly reduces your coordination, judgment and reaction time, which could lead to deadly consequences so please boat sober.  

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, capsizing and falls overboard account for more than half of all recreational boating fatalities each year. Further, nearly nine out of 10 of all drowning victims were not wearing their life jacket.

The Corps suggests five steps to ensuring a life jacket is a good fit:

·         Check the label;

·         Check for damage;

·         Fasten up the buckles;

·         Check for a snug and proper fit; and

·         Most importantly, remember to wear it.

The nearly 650 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

 

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Release no. 14-035