OCEAN CITY — Thousands of recreational boaters will hit the water in the coming weeks, causing the Mayor and Council to issue a proclamation designating the coming week as National Safe Boating Week.
With members of the Ocean City Power Squadron on hand, Mayor Rick Meehan on Monday read into the record a proclamation designation May 20-26 as National Safe Boating Week in Ocean City.
“We live here on an island or peninsula surrounded by water and one of the things we promote is recreational boating,” he said. “Recreational boating can be fun and enjoyable and we are fortunate that we have sufficient resources to accommodate the wide variety of pleasure boating demands. However, our waterways can become crowded at times and be place of chaos and confusion.”
Meehan pointed out Maryland ranks sixth in the nation in terms of the number of boating accidents each year and the number of fatal boating accidents has steadily increased. The main contributing factors in boating accidents are alcohol, operator inattention, human error, poor judgment and simply not knowing the nautical rules of the road. Wearing a life jacket has the potential to reduce by 78 percent the number of boaters who die by drowning each year.
Ocean City Power Squadron Commander John Hess on Monday explained his organization’s role in helping to ensure boating safety during next week’s holiday weekend and throughout the summer. The squadron is offering free boat inspections throughout the resort area to help ensure vessels hitting the water are equipped with the appropriate safety equipment.
“We’re ready to perform free inspections,” he said. “We’ll do a courtesy check on all safety equipment before a vessel heads out on the water. If a vessel passes, the boat will get a decal from the Power Squadron declaring it safe. We have 10 inspectors and we’ll be at marinas throughout the area in the coming weeks. We’re going to be all over the place.”
Meehan urged the boating public to seek out the Ocean City Power Squadron inspectors at the marinas. Boaters can also call the Power Squadron at 410-208-0431 to set up an appointment.
