Wearing a life jacket can save your life

A recent incident in the Norwalk community highlights just how important wearing a life jacket is. After a canoe with two individuals capsized in the water, it was their life jackets that kept them safe until help could reach them. Wearing a life jacket can save your life, too.

Last year, 83 percent of the people who died in a boating incident drowned because they weren’t wearing a life jacket. Many of these people considered themselves long-term boaters who knew how to swim, but if knocked unconscious or hurt when entering the water, it can be impossible to swim.

The Coast Guard requires that all recreational vessels must have at least one personal flotation device per person that is the correct size for that person. Children under 13 are required to wear life jackets while the boat is underway. As this incident took place in Long Island Sound closest to Connecticut, the laws of Connecticut require that life jackets be worn by personal watercraft users, children 12 and under, and people being towed for water sports. While it is recommended for boaters in canoes and kayaks to wear life jackets, it is only required during the cold water months from Oct. 1 through May 31.

In an area like Long Island Sound, wind and waves can easily swamp a small boat, so it is a good idea to wear a life jacket at all times. Also, the weather can change suddenly so that a calm water with no wind in the morning can change by the afternoon and it is important to monitor the weather forecast while boating. To prevent capsizing in a canoe or kayak, a boater should angle their canoe or kayak so that the waves break over the bow or front of the boat rather than from the side.

Before you get on the water, regardless of the type of boat you are using, ensure that every person on board has a life jacket that fits them properly. If you need to borrow one, you can find a Sea Tow Foundation Life Jacket Loaner Station near you. You wouldn’t try to put a seatbelt on in the middle of a car crash. Likewise, it is not possible to try to put on a life jacket when you are in the middle of a boating emergency. A life jacket can’t save your life if it’s not on you. Remember to wear your life jacket and practice boating safety so you can continue to make happy memories out on the water. Gail R. Kulp, executive director, Sea Tow Foundation Capt. John Bilski, owner, Sea Tow CT