NSW Maritime, Marine Rescue NSW, NSW Police Marine Area Command, and Surf Life Saving NSW have joined forces on NSW waterways, calling on the public to put safety first this boating season, which begins this Labour Day long weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With a hot summer predicted, the state\u2019s water rescue agencies are on high alert for a busy boating season ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The start of the boating season aligns with National Safe Boating Week, a week long initiative with a focus on lifejacket wear, care and servicing. All boaters are encouraged to always wear a lifejacket, make sure everybody on board is wearing one, and remember it can only save your life if you\u2019re wearing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the last five years, there have been 13 boating-related fatalities on Hunter waterways, with nine of those found to not be wearing a lifejacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Statewide, there were 61 coastal drownings along the state\u2019s coastline last financial year, with life savers undertaking 4,489 surf rescues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leading into the season launch NSW Maritime kicked off the school holidays with Operation Get On Board, a two-day statewide safety and education blitz to help boaters prepare for the months ahead on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
NSW Maritime has conducted 33,265 vessel safety checks in the Hunter over the past five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the majority of boaters have been doing the right thing, the top 3 offences in the Hunter over the last five years have been:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All boaters are encouraged to Log On with Marine Rescue NSW before spending a day on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Logging On provides peace of mind for boaters and their families, knowing that dedicated volunteers will keep watch for their safe return. It is quick and easy to Log On via the free Marine Rescue NSW app or VHF Channel 16. It only takes a minute to protect a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more on boating safety visit, https:\/\/www.nsw.gov.au\/driving-boating-and-transport\/waterways-safety-and-rules\/lifejackets-and-safety-equipment\/equipment-checklist<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Transport Jo Haylen said:<\/strong> \u201cLots of boats will have been sitting idle over winter, so give them a proper once over and check all your safety gear is on board before you set out on the water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast summer, Boating Safety Officers carried out around 35,000 vessel safety checks across the state and lifejacket non-compliance was the number one offence, accounting for 30 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSadly, there have been six boating related fatalities this financial year, and five of whom were not wearing a lifejacket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA lifejacket can only save you if you\u2019re wearing it. So if you step into a boat, pop on a lifejacket. It\u2019ll keep you safe.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Police Minister Yasmin Catley said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPolice will be patrolling all the state’s waterways including dams and rivers and will not tolerate any dangerous and anti-social behaviour this boating season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOfficers will be conducting drug and alcohol testing as well as compliance checks \u2013 so make sure that your vessel is in good working order, know your vessel\u2019s capabilities and don\u2019t go beyond its limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe want everyone to get home safely, so we remind skippers that they are responsible for the safety of everyone on board their vessel – it is vital that everyone has a fitted lifejacket, as it could save a life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the weather warms up and people flock back to our waterways, it\u2019s important that boat users check they have enough life jackets on board and make sure their vessels are seaworthy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur Marine Rescue NSW volunteers dedicate their time to keeping water users safe, and communities need to do their bit by logging on and off with Marine Rescue NSW so volunteers know they are on the water.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" NSW Maritime, Marine Rescue NSW, NSW Police Marine Area Command, and Surf Life Saving NSW have joined forces on NSW waterways, calling on the public to put safety first this boating season, which begins this Labour Day long weekend. With a hot summer predicted, the state\u2019s water rescue agencies are on high alert for a … Continue reading “Get on board: make this summer your safest boating season yet”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29428"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29429,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29428\/revisions\/29429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\u201cNew South Wales is the best place in the world to get out on the water, but popular waterways are busy waterways and we have to work hard to remind every skipper and their passengers safe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n