Contact:
 
Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation and Tourism Specialist, P: 315-312- 3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Watertown, NY, Mar 15, 2019 - New York Sea Grant's Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White sat down with the hosts of WWNY-TV 7's News This Morning to talk about the importance of life jackets as part of any recreational user's standard boating safety practices.

Soon enough the ice will thaw and boats will be on the water. But until the end of April, a life jacket is the law.

The law in New York is if you're on a vessel less than 21 feet long, you must be wearing a life jacket until May 1.

White says while the air temperature could be warm, the water is still dangerously cold this time of year.

"We don't really hit what people consider a safe water temperature to be in the water too long until mid-summer or even late summer in some bodies of water, because we have very cold, very deep water," he said. "If you get into a cold upwelling, even middle of summer you can become hypothermic very quickly."

That's why White says having your life jacket on becomes very crucial to sustain yourself so you stay afloat until you're rescued.



And as we enter into the spring season, White reminds folks of National Safe Boating Week, a campaign that runs from May 18-24 this year. Sea Grant's parent organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and its National Weather Service provides topical resources at https://www.weather.gov/safety/safeboating-week.

Additionally, White's NYSG "Boating and Marine Trades" content can be found at www.nyseagrant.org/marina. He also has information on Great Lakes shipwrecks at www.nyseagrant.org/shipwreck.

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York (SUNY), is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.

Since 1971, NYSG has represented a statewide network of integrated research, education and extension services promoting coastal community economic vitality, environmental sustainability and citizen awareness and understanding about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources.

Through NYSG’s efforts, the combined talents of university scientists and extension specialists help develop and transfer science-based information to many coastal user groups—businesses and industries, federal, state and local government decision-makers and agency managers, educators, the media and the interested public.

The program maintains Great Lakes offices at Cornell University, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Oswego and the Wayne County Cooperative Extension office in Newark. In the State's marine waters, NYSG has offices at Stony Brook University in Long Island, Brooklyn College and Cornell Cooperative Extension in NYC and Kingston in the Hudson Valley.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/nycoastlines for its flagship publication, NY Coastlines/Currents, which is published quarterly. Our program also produces an occasional e-newsletter,"NOAA Sea Grant's Social Media Review," via its blog, www.nyseagrant.org/blog.