Safe at Sea: #ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
If social media is not your thing, you may well indeed have missed a few informative accounts helpful to boaters.
America’s Boating Compass, whose tagline is “Set a Course for Better Boating,” has a monthly electronic newsletter called “Compass,” as well as a presence online. Two recent posts on its Website are particularly timely here in Southwest Florida:
– Securing Your Boat for a Hurricane
– Boating in Restricted Visibility
What initially drew me to the Website was a review of its series of seven videos, “Knots to Know.” The series begins with the cleat hitch and continues to the figure eight knot. While these videos are available on YouTube, I’d recommend you search online for America’s Boating Compass and subscribe to the site. You’ll then receive trending articles, videos, et cetera, all of interest to boaters.
Boat Live 365’s goal is to educate as many people as possible that “Boating is Serious Fun.” Accessed either online or via Facebook, it is dedicated to creating a safe boating culture. Topics range from “Know Your Navigation Before You Navigate” to “Boating Wasted is Wasted Boating.” For information on the “right safety education, the right safety equipment and the right boating attitude,” visit www.boatlive365.org.
America’s Boating Channel features safe boating videos and boater education digital media created for boaters, by boaters. Again, an online search will bring you to the resource of the United States Power Squadron. Its current focus is on everything you need to know about life jackets; however, its topics cover a broad range of topics from FAQ’s to Basic Skills, to Reporting Boating Accidents. In its fifth season of boating safety videos, the America’s Boating Channel has produced highly informative, professional boating education via online videos.
Sign up with your Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn account for access to any of the above resources — all of which are brought to you by the America’s Boating Club. (And yes, you can become a member of the American’s Boating Club on any of these social media sites!)
Pat Schmidt is a member of America’s Boating Club of Sanibel-Captiva. For more about the chapter and its boating education courses, visit www.sancapboating.club or contact education@sanibelcaptivasps.org or 612-987-2125.