Boat Travel Safety Basics For Newbies

Many people think that boat travel doesn’t have any safety risks. However, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Boats can still be dangerous and you still have to take the necessary precautions. Not only do you have to worry about getting stranded – you also have to worry about other injuries too. If you are bringing small children, you want to be sure that they remain safe. On a small sailboat, the wind could change instantly and small children can be pushed off the deck, so you want to make sure that you are looking after your child at all times. Here are some boat travel safety basics for newbies.

1. Make sure that your travel plans are left with your hotel or with the main office of the boat charter. Typically, documentation of this nature is called a float plan. Not only will it include your name – it will also include your estimated coordinates. If your boat does become lost, there will be a higher likelihood that you will be found if you leave behind your travel plans.
2. Make sure that you have a working GPS system – it may even be smart to equip your life jackets with GPS. Indeed, if you are renting a boat charter at Florida Yacht Charters, or another charter company, there is a good chance that the boat will have GPS. However, if you are renting a boat from an individual person, you may want to make sure there is GPS. You can also ask whether or not the safety jackets have GPS indicators.
3. Make sure that you have enough life vests for everyone on board – this is especially important if you have children. If you are bringing children on board, you want to be sure that there are enough life vests. The last thing you want to do is to pull away from the dock without enough life jackets – this can put your children in serious danger.
4. Make sure to stay away from alcoholic beverages – when you are on a boat surrounded by a sea of water, you don’t want to risk falling in. Every year, someone that is new to the whole boating experience has an alcohol related accident. Indeed, when you are on a rocking boat and you are drinking, you are putting yourself in a situation where you may lose your balance. Ideally, you want to refrain from drinking before you get on the boat and you want to refrain when you are on the boat.
5. Make sure that you have a safety checklist – you want to go over this list at least two times to make sure everything is squared away. On top of everything, you want to go through all your safety precautions before you kick off. The last thing you want is to forget something crucial. Ideally, you want to check this twice – just to make sure you aren’t missing anything. In the end, safety should be a meticulous process and not something that you simply gloss over.