Contact:

Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation/Tourism Specialist, P: 315.312.3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Watertown, NY, May 13, 2014 - National Safe Boating Week is May 17-23 and New York Sea Grant's Dave White stopped by Watertown's WWNY-TV 7 News This Morning studios to talk with its newscasters and remind viewers about boating safety.

White, NYSG's Recreation/Tourism Specialist, says wearing a life jacket is key.  "'Wear It!' is the national campaign that New York State has embraced to encourage folks to wear their life jackets while out on the water."

"Up until this past April 30th, everyone on a boat was required to wear a life jacket. And now, as we're into the spring and summer months, its still the recommendation because we continue to hear about drownings," White says, pointing out that almost every drowning off a boat can be prevented by using a life jacket.

Why is it so important to have a life jacket in these spring months? "Because the water is so cold, which is a shock to the body if you fall in," says White. "It takes up a great deal of energy just to adjust to the water, so it makes swimming to safety that much harder."

For more on this topic, including the different kinds of life jackets that people have to choose from, check out the video clip. Also in the video, White offers a few quick, helpful clean boating tips.



And there's more "NYSG Great Lakes Boating & Marine Trades" News available via the "News/Topics" link in the left-hand sidebar at www.nyseagrant.org/marina.

Since April 2006, White has been bringing Sea Grant's "message" to the morning masses at WWNY TV 7, a Fox affiliate in downtown Watertown, during one of the highest rated TV blocks in the "wake-up hours," the 6:30-7 am stretch.

Sea Grant's 'five minutes of fame' - which potentially reaches around 10,000 viewers in New York's Jefferson and Northern Oswego Counties - has featured topics over the years such as boating safety, aquatic invasive species, diving in search of sunken wrecks, the dune and Salmon River stewards program, shoreline land issues, tourism, and marine safety. 

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, which, in 2014, merges with the program's e-newsletter, Currents. NY Coastlines is published several times a year.