ATLANTA – Governor Brian Kemp recently signed a Georgia Safe Boating Week Proclamation as well as recognizing federal and state agencies supporting safe boating.
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This week, Governor Brian Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp recognized federal and state agencies and other Georgia organizations working diligently to support safe boating education and messaging across Georgia as part of the Georgia Safe Boating Week proclamation.
National Safe Boating Week is celebrated annually during the week leading up to Memorial Day weekend, offering an opportunity for boating safety specialists to launch education and awareness campaigns to help the public prepare for a safe boating season. Governor Brian Kemp has highlighted this awareness building season across Georgia, as well as signing an official proclamation declaring May 18 – 24 to be Georgia Safe Boating Week.
The proclamation celebrates the importance of Georgia’s waterways to the Georgia economy and to our way of life while also acknowledging the work that experts are doing to help Georgians boat more safely.
The Proclamation reads in part:
‘Whereas: The State of Georgia is blessed with many beautiful and accessible coastal waters, freshwater rivers, and lakes, many of which offer the freedom and ability for Georgians to use for personal recreation and enjoyment, benefitting the state economy, and greatly enhancing the quality of life for Georgia residents and visitors; and
Whereas: An average of 650 people perish each year in boating-related accidents in the United States. Over 75 percent of all these fatalities are caused by drowning, which is preventable in many cases by wearing a life jacket;’
The Governor made a point to recognize the importance of the work being done in boating safety by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard as well as volunteer organizations like the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U.S. Power Squadrons – America’s Boating Club, the Georgia Chapter of the American Canoe Association, and the Georgia River Network.
Pictured with Governor Brian P. Kemp and First Lady Marty Kemp are representatives from these organizations including:
- Jack F. Williams, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Georgia State Liaison Officer
- Nan Ellen Fuller, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
- David Fuller, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
- Daniel Vaccaro, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
- Deputy Commissioner Thomas Barnard, GA DNR
- Earl Alford Burns Jr, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
- Col. Thomas Barnard
- Rena Peck, Georgia River Network
- Andrea White, Georgia River Network and American Canoe Association Southeastern Chair
- Sergeant Tim Butler, Georgia DNR
- Colonel Mike England, Georgia DNR
- Game Warden David Wright, Georgia DNR
Unsettling National Trends in Paddlesports Fatalities
Last month, the US Coast Guard released data regarding2023 recreational boating fatalitieswhich showed a good news trend in boating as a whole while highlighting troubling national trends for paddlesports.
As reported by theWater Sports Foundation,“the Coast Guard last week reported the largest year-over-year drop in recreational boating fatalities in more than a decade, but that encouraging news was tempered by an increase in paddling deaths. According to the agency’sRecreational Boating Safety Statistics for 2023,overall boating fatalities fell a whopping 11.3 percent, from 636 in 2022 to 564 last year. The news was good almost across the board, with incidents down 4.9 percent and non-fatal injuries decreasing 4.3 percent. Flying against this welcome trend was paddling fatalities, which increased yet again in 2023 to nearly one in three (32.5 percent) recreational boating deaths in the United States, up from 27.4 percent in 2022.”
This increasing trend in paddlesports fatalities is particularly noteworthy as a significant percentage of paddlesports fatalities are preventable with small interventions like a day of training or wearing a life jacket. As highlighted by The Water Sports Foundation, “The data show that educating new paddlers presents the best opportunity to reverse the trend.
“The newest data shows that a third of all recreational boating fatalities occur in paddlesports, and these are often avoidable with just a little training, wearing a life jacket and enough information to make good decisions when you are on the water,” says Rena Peck, Executive Director of Georgia River Network. “We want to make sure Georgia is helping keep paddlers safe whether it is through our safety classes, using the Georgia River Guide app, or joining our paddle adventures with experienced trip leaders.”
Celebrating a Successful National Safe Boating Week Initiative
On May 18, ACA Georgia and Georgia River Network joined forces with the US Coast Guard Auxiliary, the US Army Corps of Engineers at Allatoona Lake, as well as Georgia Power, Trust for Public Land and many other organizations to offer ACA Kayaking 101 classes to kick off National Safe Boating Week. This initiative was awarded the2024 National Safe Boating Council’s Community Impact Awardearlier this spring.
In Georgia, nationally certified instructor volunteers from the American Canoe Association led 5 training classes statewide as part of a multistate initiative offering 43 simultaneous Kayaking 101 classes across 7 states. Students paid $15 per person as part of this unique, once a year opportunity to get training that typically retails for $75-$150 and a free kayak rental for the day as the paddling community comes together to celebrate National Safe Boating Week. In Georgia, this inaugural implementation of Kayaking 101 occurred at 3 locations on Allatoona Lake, as well as at Lake Oconee and in Savannah.
“It’s so exciting to see paddling advocates in Georgia stepping up to lead this important initiative during National Safe Boating Week,” said Senator Shawn Still, a Georgia State Senator and owner of Endless River Adventures. “Paddlesports are an amazing way to explore Georgia rivers and enhance our quality of life. They also drive significant segments of our local outdoor recreation economy. It makes me so proud to see Georgia volunteers stepping up to make a difference in the face of these national trends.”
In Georgia, 35 volunteers came together to train 51 people in one day, as part of the larger initiative which brought 184 volunteers together to train 471 people across 7 states in one day. Even more impressive, the exact target market of students who are most statistically at risk for the most preventable accidents are the people most drawn to these classes catching beginners and first timers and folks who have not yet purchased a kayak of their own.
Georgia River Network Community Programs Coordinator Andrea White also serves as the Southeastern Regional Chair for the American Canoe Association, and served as the co-founder of this multistate event for National Safe Boating Week.
“We are thrilled that our amazing community of ACA instructors and safety boaters can share their love of the sport with beginners and simultaneously feel as though we are doing our part to change the trajectory of paddlesports fatalities trends,” said White. “One day of training is all it takes to develop better skills and the judgment to make better decisions which results in more paddlers staying safe, having more fun and sticking with our sport for a lifetime.”
In addition to ACA Georgia, US Coast Guard Auxiliary, US Army Corps of Engineers and Georgia River Network, other Georgia partners included: Georgia Power Company, Trust for Public Land, Georgia Canoeing Association, The Outdoor Foundation, Savannah Coastal Ecotours, Middle Georgia Kayaking, Miller Kayak Trips and Training, REI Co-op and REI Co-op Experiences, Tennessee Valley Canoe Club, Half Moon Outfitters, Westbrook Supply Co., and Southern Conservation Trust.
Georgia River Networkis a leader in introducing novice paddlers to kayak instruction and was recognized by the American Canoe Association as the top paddling club nationwide for training the most beginners in 2023. Georgia River Network is also a statewide river conservation organization supporting state policies that protect Georgia’s rivers and promote river recreation through improved public access to our rivers and the establishment of water trails across the state. Learn more about their mission at garivers.org.
