Friday, May 17, 2013

U.S. Coast Guard releases 2012 Recreational Boating Statistics report

Basic Navigation & Charts - Boat Safety in NZ - Maritime New Zealand

From BoatingIndustry

Report shows lowest number of fatalities on record, overall drop in accidents and injuries

The U.S. Coast Guard released its 2012 Recreational Boating Statistics Monday, revealing that boating fatalities that year totaled 651, the lowest number of boating fatalities on record.
From 2011 to 2012, deaths in boating-related accidents decreased from 758 to 651, a 14.1 percent decrease; injuries decreased from 3,081 to 3,000, a 2.6 percent reduction; and the total reported recreational boating accidents decreased from 4,588 to 4,515, a 1.6 percent decrease.

The fatality rate for 2012 of 5.4 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels reflected a 12.9 percent decrease from the previous year’s rate of 6.2 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels.
Property damage totaled approximately $38 million.
“We’re very pleased that casualties are lower, and thank our partners for their hard work over the past year,” said Capt. Paul Thomas, director of Inspections and Compliance at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters.
“We will continue to stress the importance of life jacket wear, boating education courses and sober boating.”

The report states alcohol use was the leading contributing factor in fatal boating accidents; it was listed as the leading factor in 1;7 percent of the deaths.
Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, machinery failure and excessive speed ranked as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.

Almost 71 percent of all fatal boating accident victims drowned, with 84 percent of those victims not reported as wearing a life jacket.
Approximately 14 percent of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received boating safety instruction.
The most common types of vessels involved in reported accidents were open motorboats, personal watercraft and cabin motorboats.

The Coast Guard reminds all boaters to boat responsibly while on the water: wear a life jacket, take a boating safety course, get a free vessel safety check and avoid alcohol consumption.

To view the 2012 Recreational Boating Statistics, go to :

Links :
  • NTnews : Maybe the sea life ain't for you, mate
The skipper has been summonsed for putting an unsafe vessel to sea following a search and rescue operation in Darwin Harbour yesterday.
"On Tuesday the 11m vessel was towed by the harbour Pilot boat to Fannie Bay after reporting rudder problems. During the night the catamaran has slipped anchor and again drifted into the harbour," said Senior Sergeant Paul Faustmann from the Water Police Section.
Snr Sgt Faustmann said the 60-year-old skipper contacted authorities for assistance but was unable to give Water Police any indication of his current position.
"Police were able to talk the man through steps to obtain a GPS reading from his mobile phone which indicated his approximate position as 5 nautical miles off Charles Point.
"The PV Darwin River located the catamaran but due to unfavourable conditions and the fact they would have become a hazard to shipping, it was safer to tow the vessel to sheltered waters off Mandorah where a full safety check was carried out.

"Officers found the skipper to be without a set of marine nautical charts, navigational aids and very little local knowledge of Darwin Harbour.
"The 60-year-old man and a 58-year-old female have suffered no injuries and are now safe - but the fact they set sail without charts, in an unseaworthy boat and without any real understanding of conditions certainly hampered the rescue efforts.
"This incident would not have occurred had the vessel been in a seaworthy condition and the skipper possessed the necessary equipment and knowledge.
"It is an offence to take an unseaworthy vessel to sea and an investigation into the incident is continuing."

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