Page 10: of Marine News Magazine (July 2018)

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BY THE NUMBERS

U.S. Coast Guard’s 2017

Recreational Boating Statistics

Summer is of? cially here. At no other time of year Recreational boaters aren’t the only ones who drop the will there be more vessels in U.S. coastal waters. That’s a ball. The collision involving the USS Fitzgerald and a good reason to sharpen your bridge watch, post another commercial boxship in clear weather in June 2017, south lookout and make sure the Radars are working correctly. of Tokyo Bay, immediately comes to mind. Just one of

Almost 12 million recreational vessels, many operated by many recent U.S. Navy mishaps, this incident exposed untrained folks have joined you (some navigating more the inadequacy of the Navy’s preparation of younger sur- successfully than others) on the nation’s 95,000 miles of face warfare of? cers prior to being turned loose in the rivers, harbors, inlets and coastal waters. ? eet. Addressing that reality, the Government Accounting

One might think that recreational boating numbers Of? ce (GAO) last year took a look at the Navy’s efforts to are a little out of the MarineNews wheelhouse, but for educate its mariners. The report, entitled GAO-17-798T, commercial workboat operators maneuvering in close looks at Actions Needed to Address Persistent Maintenance, proximity to this substantial ? eet, the numbers can be Training, and Other Challenges Facing the Fleet. GAO says both a predictor of what’s to come, and a con? rmation that the Navy’s increased deployment lengths, shortened of certain safety assumptions. First, the good news: despite training periods, and deferred maintenance resulted in an increase in the number of registered recreational hulls declining ship conditions and a worsening trend in over- – consistent with a rising economy that brings more dis- all readiness. All of this contributes to sailor overwork posable income – boating fatalities in 2017 totaled 658, a and safety risks.

6.1% decrease from 2016. Boating injuries also decreased On the commercial side of the ledger, the catchphrase 9.4% and accidents dropped 3.9%. Nevertheless, the lat- “Standards of Training, Certi