BLUE HORIZONS

Frontiersman

MAT-SU — Summer-like weather and a long Memorial Day weekend has brought many Valley recreational boaters out of dry dock.

Spending a day on the water with family and friends is a favorite outdoors in Alaska — one that all too frequently can end in tragedy, said Jeff Johnson, boating law administrator for the Alaska Boating Safety Program. Although the Last Frontier in 2008 saw its fewest boating-related fatalities in 25 years (12), there are some boaters who live dangerously on the water.

The largest threats to safe boating in Alaska, and nationally, are a failure to wear a personal floatation device (PFD) and consuming alcohol while on the water, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

“The stats that jump out to us are more behavior-related than fatality-related,’ Johnson said.

Among those statistics is that more than 90 percent of people who use paddle boats, like canoes and kayaks, wear a PFD, he said. Conversely, only 6.3 percent of adults in power boats wear a life jacket — and nine out of 10 of those are adult males.

“That’s often the case,” Johnson said. “We’re seeing three or four adult males in a power boat and none of them wearing a life jacket. It’s a problem of perception of risk, that’s what I boil it down to. People equate the risk of dying in a boating event in Alaska to the likelihood of an emergency happening. Although life jackets aren’t necessarily a guarantee you’ll survive, it gives you a huge advantage.”

That advantage is especially important when recreating on Alaska’s cold waters, he said. Even in summertime, the temperatures of area lakes and rivers is cold enough to quickly incapacitate a person, Johnson said.

Palmer resident Ron Durheim is a safety instructor and trainer for Tundra Training and Safety, and also responds to water-related emergencies in the Valley. One of the obstacles in getting people to wear their PFDs is generational, he said. Although it’s the law for anyone under the age of 13 to wear a PFD, many children see their parents not wearing them.

“It’s always a concern to see children with a PFD on and the parents not,” he said. “The fact of the matter is, it can save your life. I have brought in people that, had they had a PFD on, they would’ve lived.”

Johnson recalls one rescue where two men flipped their canoe on the Matanuska River. Instead of having a PFD, one of the men struggled to stay afloat while holding his new Browning rifle over his head.

“Well, that’s not a very good PFD,” Durheim said. “We also did a rescue a few years back where these people came down the Matanuska. They were taking their PFDs off before they got off the boat, then the boat flipped. We ended up having to pick people up off the sandbar. You have to be safety conscious until you’re on dry land.”

Like wearing a seat belt in an automobile, wearing a PFD while boating is a matter of habit, said Clifford Judkins, a Wasilla resident and avid boater.

“There’s getting to be more and more people on the rivers. It’s important for people to use their heads out there,” he said. “The law doesn’t say you have to have (PFDs) on unless you’re under 13, but it’s a good idea anyway. I wear a hat when I’m out on the water because it keeps the sun out of my eyes. A life jacket’s just the same.”

And like wearing a seat belt, the more you use your life jacket, the more you’ll get used to having it on, Judkins said.

Nationally, the U.S. Coast Guard reports that of the 476 drowning deaths reported in 2007 (the latest numbers available), about 90 percent were not wearing a PFD. Also, alcohol contributes to about 25 percent of boating accidents.

“Drinking and boating obviously don’t mix,” Johnson said. “Alcohol on the water affects judgment, it affects balance and it affects the passengers as well, where they can fall in. It’s the same as driving a vehicle while intoxicated on the highway.”

Along with wearing a PFD and staying sober on the water, Durheim said the best way to ensure safety is to use common sense. A few years ago, he responded to Lake Lucille on a report of a child in the lake. It turned out the child, who was wearing a life jacket while playing near the water, drove a small electric toy car into the lake. The child was fine and Durheim praised the mother for having her children wear a PFD while playing near water.

After the rescue, a neighbor decided to help by taking his canoe out onto the lake to retrieve the toy car. He flipped the canoe.

“The mother, she hears the guy hollering,” Durheim said. “She’s very pregnant, but she puts on a PFD, grabs another PFD and starts swimming out to save the guy.”

Boating without a life jacket is like skydiving without a backup parachute, Johnson said. Chances are a person won’t need to use the emergency chute, “but who in their right mind would jump without it?”

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.

STAY SAFE

The Coast Guard in Alaska’s District 17 has these safe boating tips:

• Make a Float Plan: Tell someone where you are going, when you will be back and what route you will be traveling, as well as the names of the persons on board. Also, make sure you have enough fuel for your voyage.

• Use Safety Equipment: Wear life jackets and travel with a marine VHF radio. Communication with the Coast Guard is critical in case of an emergency on the water.

• Get a Vessel Safety Check: The Coast Guard Auxiliary offers free inspections of pleasure boats to ensure that you have all the required safety equipment. More information is available at www.safetyseal.net. Click on “I want a VSC” to find an examiner near you.

• Don’t Drink and Boat: Drinking and boating don’t mix. Boating while intoxicated can result in arrest, or worse, can cause a fatal accident.