Life jackets, safe practices crucial as big boating weekends near

If anyone knows about safe boating in Tennessee it’s Betsy Woods.

After all, she has spent the bulk of her 23-year career with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency as the agency’s boating education coordinator (19 years). It’s a job where the word “safe” is first and foremost. One fatality is one too many.

So it was on a recent morning Woods traveled to Memphis from the TWRA’s headquarters in Nashville to talk safe boating as we get closer to Memorial Day (May 27) and the first of the state’s three big weekends for boating.

And yet, while Memorial, July 4 and Labor Day weekends are the Big 3 when it comes to safe boating, in her job, everyday counts for Woods. Two fatalities, including one in West Tennessee involving a kayak on Kentucky Lake, have already marred Woods’ quest for an unblemished year.

“We have about 256,000 registered boats in Tennessee,” said Woods, 62, who lives in Old Hickory outside of Nashville. “That’s not counting kayaks, canoes and stand-up paddle boats. We’ve had two fatalities. Both were not wearing their lifejackets.”

Sitting in on Woods’ safe boating discussion was John Gordon, marketing manager for Memphis-based Avery Outdoors. He’s an avid waterfowler, and knows the dangers of hunting ducks and geese. When it comes to hunting ducks and geese, water plays a big, big part.

“That’s very true,” said Gordon, who is also a well-known Mid-South goose hunting guide. “There’s that big river that is west of us (Mississippi River). You really have to pay attention to what is going on around you.”

Paying attention is something Woods stresses in her talks across the state.

The fatality on Kentucky Lake occurred when a man died after falling off his kayak. The victim had one arm in his lifejacket which was tied to the kayak. The incident came on a windy, cold day, Woods said.

“The cold water got the fellow,” she said. “Everything went wrong for him. Plus, there was that first gulp of water when he went into the lake. The weather conditions were really bad and if you know anything about Kentucky Lake it’s not a place to be when the wind is blowing and the water temperatures are cold.”

That’s why, Woods said, taking a boating education course is so important.

Any Tennessee resident born after Jan. 1, 1989 must show the TWRA-issued Boating Safety Education Certification as proof of successful completion of the TWRA Boating Safety exam. No other certificate will be accepted as meeting the requirements of the law.

In 2017, there were 16 boating fatalities in Tennessee compared to 22 in 2016. In fact, there were two double-fatalities in 2017. One was a couple attempting to help a struggling person in the water. The person struggling survived, the two attempting to help drowned. Four 2017 fatalities were from paddlecraft – all falls overboard, one from a canoe (victim was never recovered) and three from kayaks (one of the kayakers was wearing a lifejacket in a whitewater situation; the other two were not wearing lifejackets).

Woods, who has a BS and MS degree from Middle Tennessee State University, was in Memphis to promote an upcoming Safe Boating Class on May 10 at Brighton High School in Tipton County. The class is from 4:30-8 p.m., and is one of two on the TWRA docket, the other slated for Henry County on May 12 at 9 a.m. at ACS Marine, 14427 U.S. 79.

Exams are also administered at the Bartlett Hunter Education Range Facility (3200 Brother Boulevard) during regular business hours. The Boating Safety Exam Permit (Type 600) is sold at the Bartlett facility for $10 (cash only). For additional information call (901) 213-3124.

As for Woods, she is recognized as one of the nation’s top boating coordinators. Her resume includes the prestigious NASBL Boater Safety Educator of the Year Award. NASBLA stands for National Boating Safety Advisory Council. She earned the organization’s first award in 2011 and has served on the NASBLA education committee since 1999.

“Of these (2017) fatalities, and looking at the reports, 13 of them would probably still be with us today if they had been wearing a lifejacket and wearing it correctly,” Woods said. “That’s sad.”

Got an item or note? E-mail Larry Rea at lroutdoors@att.net or go to his web site at lroutdoors.com; listen to Larry Rea on Outdoors with Larry Rea on Saturday mornings from 6-7:30 on ESPN 790-AM and 1520-AM and 95.3 in Brownsville, Tenn., and 6:30-8 on News/Talk 101.5 in Jackson, Tenn.