Quote Originally Posted by Hotboat View Post
There have been a few Grads. Have a good night.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
More than a few. Coast Guard stats show 2013 as safer than 2012.

The fatality rate for 2013 of 4.7 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels reflected a 13 percent decrease from the previous year's rate of 5.4 deaths per 100,000 registered recreational vessels. Property damage totaled approximately $39 million.
"We are pleased that there have been fewer accidents on waterways in recent years and thank our partners for their work," said Capt. Jon Burton, director of inspections and compliance at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters. "Together we will continue to stress the importance of life jacket use, boating education courses and sober boating."
The report states alcohol use was the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents; it was listed as the leading factor in 16 percent of deaths. Operator inattention, improper lookout, operator inexperience, excessive speed and machinery failure ranked as the top five primary contributing factors in accidents.
Where the cause of death was known, 77 percent of fatal boating accident victims drowned; of those drowning victims, 84 percent were not wearing a life jacket. Where boating instruction was known, 20 percent of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received boating safety instruction. The most common types of vessels involved in reported accidents were open motorboats, personal watercraft and cabin motorboats.

The full article can be read here: http://lakeexpo.com/news/lake_news/a...a4bcf887a.html
Or go to the USCG document here: http://www.uscgboating.org/assets/1/...atingStats.pdf

77% is a big number in my book and it is easy to bring that number down.