TO: Mayor and Commissioners
FROM: Alexis Givings, City Clerk
THROUGH: Terrence R. Moore, ICMA-CM
DATE: May 6, 2025
Title
NATIONAL SAFE BOATING WEEK PROCLAMATION
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
Motion to proclaim the week of May 17 - 23, 2025 as National Safe Boating Week.
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Background:
Recreational boating is a fun and enjoyable recreation. Fortunately, there are sufficient resources to accommodate the wide variety of pleasure boating demands. However, the waterways can become crowded at times and be a place of chaos and confusion. While being a marvelous source of recreation, boating, to the unprepared, can be a risky sport. Not knowing or not obeying the Navigation Rules or the nautical “Rules of the Road,” so to speak, drinking alcohol or taking drugs while operating a boat, or choosing not to wear your life vest when doing so is clearly not a wise choice. Human error or a lack of proper judgment can increase the number of boaters who lose their lives by drowning each year. Approximately 80% of lost lives is due to not wearing a life vest.
Knowledge and skills are important in reducing human error and improving judgment. If people are aware of the risk, they are likely to take the precautionary measures to protect themselves and their friends and family. That is why we must continue to spread the messages of boating safety not only during National Safe Boating Week, but also throughout the entire year.