POLICE URGE SKIPPERS TO ENSURE BEACONS REGISTERED

POLICE are reminding boaties to check their safety equipment as the weather warms up.

With spring just around the corner, more Gold Coasters will be out on the water.

Officer in Charge Senior Sergeant Jay Notaro, from the water police, is urging boaties to ensure flares are up to date and that they have the right life jackets on board.

“There’s different safety equipment for different waters,” he said. “People need to make sure they register their EPIRBs (an emergency position indicating radio beacon). Some people forget to do that. You’re registered against your name, we need to know who it is.”

He also urged boaties to log on and off with the Seaway tower when they went out and to let friends know where they were going.

To help locals get waterready for the warmer months, water police will host a Summer Safe Boating Open Day on Seaworld Drive on October 27 supported by other authorities.