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National Safe Boating Week promoters push wearing proper life-jacket
It’s National Safe Boating Week. From May 16-22, state fishery and boating agencies, boating trade groups, US Coast Guard, and the US Army Corps of Engineers will be celebrating safe boating, reminding boaters of safe practices on the water and, unfortunately, summarizing the past year’s fatal boating accidents. That last item is to drive home the point that a serious boating accident can happen to anyone.
I can vouch for that. National Safe Boating Week reminds me of one of the stupidest things I’ve ever done outdoors but was lucky enough — that time — to survive it.
Many years ago, a group of friends and I decided to hunt pheasants on an island in the middle of the Susquehanna River. The island squats in an impounded stretch of the Susquehanna, just upriver from the Safe Harbor Dam, so the water is deep. And in November, it’s cold.
Back in those days, when hunters in the flanking York and Lancaster County fields flushed those pheasants too many times, the birds sailed off the bluffs and took refuge on the island we targeted.
We all arrived at the boat launch, looked at the one humble johnboat, then around the circle of five assembled hunters, two big hunting dogs, guns, and gear. Everyone knew it was folly to board that overloaded boat, but we all did it. In my defense, I was the only one to bring along a lifejacket, which I donned before we embarked.
We made it across to the island, with the Susquehanna lapping at the gunwales. But the pheasant hunting was great; we even found some ducks along a brushy shoreline.
When it was time to return, we all piled in again, with the extra weight of a dozen or so gamebirds (counting ducks). The only weight we’d shed was the shot from a lot of shells.
That’s when the boat’s owner announced that the motor was nearly out of gas, and we might need to paddle most of the way — which would have been fine. But thinking somehow that a faster speed would save gas, the pilot gunned the motor.
When he did, the stern sank lower and the Susquehanna poured in over the transom, swamping the boat. We were all up to our necks in cold river water within seconds. Fortunately, when the mishap occurred, we had not yet progressed to where the river was too deep to stand. We were able to drag the boat back to the island, and tip it to drain the water.
Freezing and soaked, we agreed that the pilot and one hunter should paddle across with one of the dogs, try to find gas, then the pilot would return for us survivors.
They set off into the waning light, while we stranded somehow got a fire going (someone had dry matches and paper in a plastic bag)
Hours later, a light appeared on the Lancaster County shore, a boat engine coughed, and the light grew nearer. We all made it home alive, but our survival could not be chalked up to intelligence.
We’d broken all kinds of rules of safe boating because we were so intent on a day of hunting pheasants.
The most obvious rules we ignored were to never overload a boat beyond its safe capacity (this is always engraved on a plate somewhere inside the hull), and to always wear a life-jacket (I did).
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is responsible for promoting and enforcing safe boating on the waters of Pennsylvania. The Commission’s website (www.pa.gov/agencies/fishandboat/boating/safety) highlights Safe Boating Week and offers lots of ways to learn about boating responsibly. It lists how to register for safe boating courses, how to anticipate and avoid hazards, navigation protocols, and all the equipment either required or recommended for boating safety.
On our local lakes and rivers, the first violation Fish and Boat officers check for is compliance with life-jacket requirements. Between November 1 and April 30 wearing a life-jacket is required on certain boats, and at other times a life-jacket must, at least, be on board for every boat occupant.
Last year, nine people lost their lives in boating accidents on Pennsylvania waters. Sadly, that number is typical of the state’s annual boating fatalities. Two of those fatalities were local. One gentleman was lost on the Youghiogheny River below Ohiopyle, and another man died at Acme Dam in Westmoreland County. According to Fish and Boat Commission summaries, the Youghiogheny River victim was wearing a life-jacket and was an experienced paddler. That accident is considered random entrapment in the current. The Acme Dam victim was not wearing a life-jacket when his kayak capsized. Among the other seven fatalities, only one wore a life-jacket at the time of the accident. Several of the 2025 fatalities involved motor-powered boats.
Wear your life-jacket, enjoy the water, and make it home safe.
Ben Moyer is a member of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association and the Outdoor Writers Association of America.