Boating in Michigan was down in several ways in 2003. One, the number of accidents and fatalities dropped. Two, the number of boats registered was also down.

There were 220 boating accidents down from 228 in 2002. As recently as 1998 there were 514 accidents. Interestingly 1/4 of these accidents occur on the Great Lakes meaning the majority occur on the state’s inland lakes.

There were 29 Michigan boating fatalities in 2003, 9 less than in 2002. The 38 deaths in 2002 were the most since 1998.

Less accidents and deaths are clearly a good thing.

What may not be a good thing is a decline in boating registrations. There were 957,454 registered boats. This is still the most of any state in the Union. This figure was down 4.7%. From 2002 to 2001, registrations were down .4%. Also, this is the 1st time since 1999 under 1 million boats have been registered in Michigan.

Two reasons for the decline in registered boats are the slow economy and low water levels. For sure there is good new on the water level front with Lake Michigan up 7 inches this spring.

Hopefully we’ll have a boating season with more people on the water, yet the same level of safety.

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