Join us for the 2013 National Boating Safety Week, May 18^th to the 24^th! It’s a great week designated to educating boaters everywhere of the boating safety guidelines for each state.

There are several educational lessons planned for each day of the week! We highly recommend reading the lessons throughout the week and sharing them with your friends and family. Together we can all stay safe while enjoying our time out on the water!

The lessons we missed over the weekend were the importance of wearing a life jacket, and performing Vessel Safety Checks prior to the start of boating season. Ensure that you have proper life jackets on board for each of your passengers, and that you have a qualified technician examine your boat!

We’ll also get to learn about the importance of marine forecasts, hypothermia and why we should never boat under the influence.

We cannot stress enough the importance of checking the most recent marine forecast prior to hopping on the boat! The marine forecast is a great resource as it helps to predict wind speed, and direction, wave heights, and other significant weather elements.

After winter passes, and boating season nears, we are all jumping at the chance to get back on the water. Often times we forget that water temperatures might still be in the 50s and 60s, despite air temperatures being in the upper 70s to 80s. The human body cannot function for very long in frigid temperatures, putting us at risk for hypothermia.

Alcohol effects on water can be greater than when we are land, and increase our chances for being involved in a boating accident. Most importantly drivers should never operate a boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

As the old saying goes, “It’s better to be safe than sorry!”

Don’t forget to check in with us as National Boating Safety Week continues! What lesson are you looking forward to most? Share it with us on our Monterey Boats Facebook or Twitter page!