I spent the better part of last week in San Diego at the International Boating & Water Safety Summit. I’m disappointed to tell you that, prior to joining the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, that I knew nothing about this event.
But YOU should know about it. There are many outstanding groups in this industry, many of them that are not widely known, that are working diligently to ensure the safety and well-being of your customers. The topics of the sessions at the IBWSS aren’t necessarily sexy, but they underscore the importance of keeping our waterways safe.
Those topics range from life jacket use to boater education to the use of EPIRBS on offshore boats, and the event attracts the likes of the U.S. Coast Guard, the National Transportation Safety Board, and professionals and volunteers who advocate for recreational boating safety in both Canada and the United States, including members of the U.S. and Canadian Safe Boating Councils. In all, there were nearly 450 people who attended, and the many companies and organizations represented there believe wholeheartedly that investing in the safety of our consumers ensures the long-term success of our businesses.
U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Christopher Colvin, who is the Pacific Area Deputy Commander (which in effect makes him in charge of half the world as far as U.S. Coast Guard responsibilities go) said it best in his opening remarks at the conference: “One of the great things about this Summit is the synergy of effort. Together, you are helping save lives.”
The Coast Guard plays a major role at this event (which is officially co-produced by the National Safe Boating Council and the National Water Safety Congress), and the attendees rally around the Coast Guard’s Strategic Plan, a plan to help reduce the number of fatalities and injuries on the water through 11 specific objectives. The three-year plan is an update of a five-year plan that wrapped up in 2011, and is just kicking off now, and you can read more about the Strategic Plan here. In 2010, boating-related deaths were at an all-time low, at 672 deaths. Preliminary numbers show that in 2011, the number of boating-related deaths rose to more than 700, and in 2012, boating-related deaths, according to Jeff Hoedt, Chief of the Boating Safety Division of the U.S. Coast Guard, are on pace to exceed the 800 mark. So you can imagine the urgency to begin implementing the Strategic Plan.
What do we do, as retailers, to get involved with the effort to reduce accidents on the water? It’s commonly believed that mandatory life jacket use would inhibit boat sales, but that reality is right around the corner if we don’t make progress on reducing accidents (perhaps even if we do). It makes sense to me that increasing our focus on boater education on the front lines of boat sales would be the way to go. I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on these topics.
