With the kids out of school and summer in full swing, it’s hard to resist the lure of the water.
Sometimes it’s difficult to remember that something so beautiful can be so deadly. We all need a reminder now and again to practice safety every time we’re out there.
Unfortunately, those reminders usually come in the form of tragic news stories of drownings following a weekend of fun in the sunshine. Within a period of one week, three people have drowned in or near Crescent Harbor on Whidbey Island. On Sunday, a 57-year-old man presumably drowned while trying to get to his boat, which had drifted away while he was exploring a nearby beach. Just one week earlier George Helland and his 13-year-old son, Clifford, of Sedro Woolley, both drowned when their small boat capsized during a crabbing trip.
The victims were not wearing life jackets. Sadly, these probably aren’t the last such stories we’ll hear before the summer season is over.
Local officials have emphasized the need for everyone on the water to wear life jackets, but it hasn’t caught on yet — like wearing seatbelts or bicycle helmets. Some have suggested people don’t wear life jackets because it looks nerdy, but maybe it’s because people don’t think of needing safety equipment to play in the surf or sit in a boat.
When you buy a car, the seatbelts come with. For most of us, it just feels natural to use them. When you buy a bicycle, the helmets are nearby. You can even hang the helmet on the handlebars for easy storage. But you don’t need any equipment to dip your feet in the water on a hot afternoon.
It’s time all of us start thinking of water outings as another outdoor sport that requires certain equipment beyond a bathing suit, swim trunks and sunscreen. If you don’t have a good-fitting life jacket for every member of your party, don’t even think of going out in a boat. And don’t just keep the jackets on board, make sure every person is wearing the flotation device, including yourself.
Obviously different water adventures require different equipment. A teen-ager probably won’t need a life jacket in a pool or a lake, but small children will. And even grown-ups should be extra careful about swimming in bodies of water where they could get caught up in plants and weeds.
Water safety takes planning and it may even cause a postponed trip or call for someone without the right equipment to stay behind. It’s far better to wave to someone left on the dock than to endure the horror of a search and rescue with tragic results.
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