From The Coast Guard Auxiliary

Have you ever heard the phrase, “That’ll never happen to me”?

Of the 6,347 boats involved in accidents in 2008 only 1,146 operators, or 18 percent, had any type of safe-boating instruction. Four hundred sixty five of these operators, or 7 percent, had less than 10 hours experience driving a boat.

We read about a boating accident in the newspapers and say it. We see it on TV and remark how someone else really goofed up. We hear on the radio about a boating accident and think the boaters were stupid. What about us? The worst statistics are the innocents, the friends and family who trusted their lives and safety to someone with little or no training. In 2008 alone, 709 people lost their lives and 3,331 received medical treatment beyond first aid.

And, in 2009, of the 736 people who died in boating accidents, nearly 75 percent drowned. In most cases, only one person made a mistake but in all cases, others paid dearly for it. Sign up for a safe boating class. Always wear a life jacket while on the boat. Don’t drink and boat. Do these and you can safely say, “That’ll never happen to me!”

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed volunteer Component of the United States Coast Guard created by an Act of Congress in 1939. The Auxiliary, America’s Volunteer Guardians, supports the Coast Guard in nearly all of the service’s missions.