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USCG
Auxiliary column
By James J. Rudy
Wear your lifejackets
 Three
people have drowned recently in our area waters.
One, a fisherman, fell into Lake
Jocassee from a capsized boat. Another fell out of his boat while
making a rapid turn on Lake Hartwell. A third drowned when he fell
off an inflatable raft while on the deep waters of Lake Keowee.
All boaters should wear life
jackets. Life jackets save lives. Once a sudden emergency crops up,
it’s too late to start looking for a stowed life jacket.
Last year, 706 recreational
boaters or passengers died in boating mishaps. Some died from blunt
force trauma, but most, 476, drowned. Of those drowning deaths, 90
percent were not wearing their life jackets.
Modern day life jackets are
light and relatively comfortable, even in the warm weather months.
You never know when an errant PWC or another boater, not paying
attention, will ram into your boat. You might hit a submerged object
or a boater operating under the influence of alcohol might find your
boat.
If that happens, it’s too late
to search for a life jacket. So wear your life jacket and do not
become a statistic.
For additional information on
the Auxiliary and its activities on lakes Hartwell and Keowee,
contact Flotilla 25 Lakes Hartwell and Keowee at
http://a0700205.uscgaux.info/ or 864-972-2085.
James J. Rudy is USCGA public
affairs officer for Flotilla 25.
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