Page 8: of Marine News Magazine (December 2016)

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BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. Coast Guard’s 2015 Recreational Boating Statistics

The U.S. Coast Guard’s annual look at Recreational cidents are being reported despite the explosive growth in

Boating Statistics thoroughly chronicles numbers and the recreational markets.

types of boats, where they are registered and takes an even Property damage in 2015 was a whopping $42 million closer look at casualties. It’s a somber reminder as to just and, predictably, alcohol was the leading known contrib- how dangerous it is out on the water. Conversely, and uting factor in fatal boating accidents and was listed as since this is a commercial marine and workboat publi- the leading factor in 17 percent of deaths.

cation, you might wonder why we give these numbers Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper a second glance when we typically don’t concentrate on lookout, machinery failure and excessive speed ranked the recreational markets. On the other hand, the nation’s as the top