US Coast Guard Auxiliary Naples Announces National Safe Boating Week
Naples, FL – The week of May 17th thru May 23th is celebrated as National Safe Boating Week across the country. Here in Southwest Florida, we celebrate it for the entire month of May. Why is that. Well, we have a lot of winter residents that head north for the summer. In many cases they are boaters year-round. So, we want to make sure our message of safe boating is made available to all.
The question is why is National Safe Boating Week in particular and safe boating in general is so important. Florida has approximately 1,350 miles of salt water coastline according to Florida Department of State Opens in new window . The total shoreline of Florida is 8,435 miles. The Florida Gulf Shoreline 5,095 miles. This includes rivers, creeks and some lakes.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has recently announced that Florida continues to lead the nation and has documented over 1 million recreational vessels across the state in 2023. Florida, with its great year-round weather and plenty of access to fresh and salt water, is the “Boating Capital of the World.” With more people calling Florida home and more vessels on the water, it’s important that residents and visitors practice safe boating. Collier County alone has over 5,000 registered Personal Water Craft (PWC).
The effectiveness of our safe boating efforts are clear. According to FWC, in 2020, Florida experienced 79 boating fatalities and 534 boating injuries with 985,005 registered boats. In 2023, the latest data that is available, there were 59 boating fatalities and 408 boating injuries statewide with 1,035,911 registered boats. These figures indicate a significant improvement in boating safety at a time when there are more boats and people out on the water.
The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary promotes safe recreational boating in many ways. We teach safe boating classes. We provide free Vessel Safety Examinations to ensure that recreational boats have all the required safety equipment and that it is in good working order. We set-up information stands at various public and private locations where the public gathers, providing free boating safety information. We also do public events where our members meet the public to discuss safe boating practices. For further information about other U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary programs, or how to join the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 93 in Naples, please contact the Naples Flotilla at (239) 261-7375 or visit us at https://wow.uscgaux.info/content.php?unit=070-09-03 Opens in new window .