I find myself in a very sad place as we go into our holiday season. Our communities were rocked with the news that 10 year old Skylar Brogdon-Marr was killed in a boating accident on Lake Talquin in early November. The pain of such a tragic loss for his family and friends must be overwhelming.
I have no intent to try to cast blame on anyone involved because I’m certain that their grief is immeasurable, but given that a search party was needed to find his body, suggests that he wasn’t wearing a life jacket, and that’s disturbing to me. It isn’t certain whether or not wearing one would have saved his life in this accident, but it seems very possible. Wearing a life jacket is the most basic rule of safe boating, and this is exactly why!
On the same day, my partner, Kyle Pridgen, and I were competing in a bass tournament launching out of White City on the Intracoastal Waterway. Shortly after blast off, we hit wakes from earlier boats and Kyle was thrown from the boat. He had a quality life jacket on and fortunately, sustained no serious injuries. It could have been much worse, and I’m thankful beyond words that he came out of it okay. It just seems odd that the very same day of the Talquin tragedy, I get jolted back into the reality that it can happen to anyone. I mention this incident because experience alone does not prevent boating accidents from happening. My experience on the water runs deep, but that’s not what prevented our accident from being much worse – it was following rules and preparation.
JR Mundinger, our contributing writer and guide on Lake Talquin, has always been a great advocate of boating safety, and he provided me with some research he conducted about the following Coast Guard statistics.
• In 2016, the Coast Guard counted 4,463 accidents that resulted in 701 deaths, 2,903 injuries and approximately $49 million dollars of damage to property.
• Operator inattention, operator inexperience, improper lookout, excessive speed, and machinery failure rank as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.
• Where cause of death was known, 80% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those drowning victims with reported life jacket usage, 83% WERE NOT WEARING A LIFE JACKET.
On 4 November 2017, two boating accidents in our communities had completely different endings. If this doesn’t bring it home for you, then I don’t know what will; boating is no joke! I think the message here is quite clear: pay attention to your surroundings, slow down, wear your life jacket and MAKE kids wear them. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Skylar’s family and friends. We are truly saddened for your loss.
For more information on boater safety courses and Florida Boating requirements visit these two websites;
www.boatus.org/free/
www.myfwc.com/boating/safety-education/courses/
~ Capt. Randy Cnota