USCG Issues Cold Water Warning
CLEVELAND — Generally increased air temperatures around the lakes this week will mark the start of the Great Lakes boating season but lake waters remain quite cold.
The Coast Guard has already responded to several incidents on the Great Lakes this spring involving boaters unprepared for such challenges as rapidly changing weather or simply lacking essential equipment onboard their vessels.
Water temperatures in parts of the Great Lakes will hover in the mid- to upper 40’s this week where survival time averages less than two hours. Hypothermic shock and drowning are the leading causes of death in the spring boating months on the Great Lakes.
To reduce the chances of becoming just another boating statistic, the Coast Guard reminds boaters to plan ahead by following a few tips:
Don’t drink and boat — alcohol reduces awareness levels and contributes to over half of boating accidents and several boating fatalities each year.
Always have a marine band radio with a backup device such as a cell phone aboard. Cell phones can be handy but should not be the sole source of communication due to power and range. Marine band distress calls should be made on Channel 16 with hailing and non-distress calls on Channel 9.
| This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006 at 10:50 am and is filed under Safety Series. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed. |
