In 2022, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee (FWC) introduced the state reached 1 million registered boats by leisure customers.
Should you add within the variety of business boats for charters, flats guides, entice fishers and pleasure cruises, that equals a ton of boats out on the water.
Everybody wants a driver’s license to drive a automotive legally, however unbelievably, there may be little or no required to function a ship — and even hire one. Sadly, Florida additionally leads the nation in boating fatalities and boating accidents. There have been 81 boating fatalities in Florida in 2024 and FWC discovered 65% of the boat operators concerned in deadly accidents didn’t have any formal boater coaching.
In 2024, Monroe County ranked No. 1 for boating accidents, adopted by Miami-Dade County. In fact, we now have quite a lot of shoreline and we will boat year-round; nonetheless, realizing the way to safely function a ship and having the required security gear can forestall accidents and save lives.
Anybody born in 1988 or after is required to take a boater security course and have a ship security ID card when working a powerboat over 10 horsepower. Fortunately, there are lots of free on-line programs and the FWC has hyperlinks to the entire authorized boating programs at https://myfwc.com/boating/safety-education/programs/.
The native U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and Key West Energy Squadron supply on-line and in-person lessons usually. Boat USA has free on-line programs. Some insurance coverage corporations supply reductions for finishing boating programs. The Florida Keys Nationwide Marine Sanctuary has a free on-line boater training course that could be very helpful to study particular rules that exist in waters of the Florida Keys, with course matters on zones and particular safety areas, defending our assets and the results of careless boating.
Whenever you personal a ship, you understand there may be quite a lot of required security gear, and it’s a good suggestion to verify it’s all updated and in working order. On a pal’s boat, ask if they’ve the required security gear since security is a precedence. Flares expire each 42 months (or 3.5 years). Three unexpired flares are required on boats 16 ft and over in size. You possibly can hold the older expired flares onboard, however they don’t depend towards the required three unexpired flares.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Workplace will settle for expired flares. Don’t get rid of them in family waste, since they’re a fireplace hazard.
One life jacket per particular person is required along with no less than one throwable floatation machine. Boats over 26 ft must have a fireplace extinguisher. Boaters should preserve a distance of no less than 300 ft from diver-down flags on open waters — that’s the distance of a soccer area (not together with the endzones) and no less than 100 ft from diver flags on rivers, inlets or navigation channels.
Boaters should decelerate round snorkelers, divers and swimmers. A diver-down flag is required from a vessel when there are snorkelers or divers within the water.
Kayakers and stand-up paddle boarders – there are additionally necessities for you. Whereas on the water, it’s essential have a lifejacket and a noisemaking machine on-board. Preserve a whistle in your private flotation machine and that may suffice. Between nightfall and daybreak, a flashlight or headlamp should be on to alert different boaters of your location. Keep away from loitering in navigation channels. Boats want time to cease, and navigation channels within the Florida Keys are very slim, sometimes with seagrasses and shallow water on either side.