PONCE INLET, Fla. – With Memorial Day just a week away, rescue teams in Central Florida are kicking training into high gear, expecting to need those skills more this year than in the past.
Volusia County Beach Patrol has been slammed with swimmers getting caught in rip currents and the Coast Guard is seeing an increase in calls for help with boaters.
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On Monday, the Coast Guardsmen from Station Ponce De Leon Inlet trained for search and rescue. They worked carefully with a helicopter crew that hovered and flew just feet above, practicing how to get those stranded in the ocean to safety.
“A lot of people who had never been on the water are taking the opportunity to come out here and have a lot of fun, which is awesome. We just want to make sure they’re being as safe as they can,” Petty Officer Christopher Demers said.
In 2020, several thousand more boats got registered in Florida.
“Unfortunately, the number of public education classes or boat owners taking those classes has gone way down. They want to get out, they just want to get in the car and drive, if you will,” said Rodney Janssen, Flotilla Commander with the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission recently reported that there were 836 boating accidents in 2020. That is the highest number in nine years and well above the average.
“The biggest thing is lifesaving equipment, visual distress signals not being adequately prepared, man overboard, woman overboard,” Janssen said.
Saturday through Friday is National Safe Boating Week.
The Coast Guard encourages anyone who plans to hit the water to read up on the rules of boating and the waterways and make sure their equipment is ready.
“Reach out to your local auxiliary for a peer side safety inspection, they’re free of cost and they’re just to gain compliance with all the safety gear on board,” Demers said.
You can find out how to get a safety inspection set up here.
The Coast Guard and FWC said they will also have more presence on the water on Memorial Day and Fourth of July looking for drunk boaters and making sure people have the right safety equipment on board.