It may be a little late in the season to discuss boating safety, but since I am fresh off of a boating trip I thought I would share a little bit about what I know and just learned. This is definitely not a complete (or anywhere close to it) list, so check out some boater safety sites before you go on your trip.

Obviously the key thing is to put kids in a life jacket!! It doesn’t matter if they think they look stupid! We ALL look a little silly in them!

Orange Flag You HAVE to have an orange flag up when you have people in the water. Whatever you do, do not forget this and have a friend run over. Major party pooper.

Remember to turn off the prop when your friends and family are getting in and out of the boat.

Drinking High on the list of things NOT to do. Drinking and driving anything is a bad idea. Places that are frequented by “partiers” like Havasu have a zero tolerance policy, meaning if you test positive for ANY alcohol, they are sending you to the big house.

No Wake Zone Always obey this rule. You never know who is watching. Breaking the “No Wake” is like rolling a stop sign… it just gives the cops a reason to pull you over. (My friend was almost arrested because of this)

Wave Runners The passenger is always supposed to wear the safety key. Luckily the cops who almost arrested my friend gave us this lovely tidbit. It makes sense, how else would you know if they fell off?

Also remember that people do not pay attention to wave runners. Keep an eye out for boats in your area.

Lights Boat lights are very important. It is illegal to have a boat out in the water without having lights on it.

Sunscreen Wear it, re-apply it. There is nothing worse than a burn – they make you feel like an idiot because you can’t do something so simple. Plus peeling and skin cancer are hidious side effects.

Other helpful ideas…

• Wear boardshorts when you are wakeboarding or tubing (no one wants their bottoms coming off or going up there tush).
• Take your earings out when tubing. Not only can they fall out, they can go right through your earlob.
• Take plenty of food and water. Boating (especially in the sun or doing activities) can be physically exhausting.
• If you are riding wave runners, or on a boat, make sure the plugs are in… you don’t want to sink.
• Did I mention sunscreen??
• If you rent a boat make sure it has an anchor, large bimini top and a sound system.

  If you do rent a boat, or borrow it, make sure it is in good working condition. Nothing can ruin a boating trip faster than a dysfunctional boat.

  
  Categories: Current Events, Travel, Uncategorized, alcohol, boating, boats, family, food, friends, havasu, health, how-to, life, river, simplify life, snorkeling, stupidity, tubing, wakeboarding

  This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 9:13 am and is filed under Current Events, Travel, Uncategorized, alcohol, boating, boats, family, food, friends, havasu, health, how-to, life, river, simplify life, snorkeling, stupidity, tubing, wakeboarding. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.