Two ambitious NYSG activities shared a mission of safety this summer. Thanks to all our partners and participants for making these events a success!

From May to September, NYSG Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White embarked on the 2010 upstate NY tour of the Discover Clean & Safe Boat sponsored by Marathon Boat Group, the Boating Industries Association of Upstate NY, Great Lakes Seaway Trail, Morgan Recreational Supply, Taylor Made Products, NYS Parks and the NYS Environmental Facilities Corporation. The 19-ft “Made in New York” Grumman aluminum pontoon boat came off the assembly line in Marathon to educate boaters about required and recommended gear for safe and legal NY boating. NYSG equipped the boat with four types of personal flotation devices (PFDs), safety flares, chartbook, paddle, and a fuel nozzle bib to reduce fuel spills. The boat had two electric motors, a generator and a shoreline recharge plug-in. Boaters at the exhibit who pledged to be “clean, green and safe” spun a wheel for prizes such as a floating keychain, bilge sock, Nautical Seaway Trail Chartbook, poncho and life jacket.

Using funds from the NY Center for Agricultural Medicine and Health (NYCAMH), NYSG and its partners hosted a Safety At Sea (SAS) training workshop at Inlet Seafood Packing House in Montauk. During the free day-long training in June, 46 commercial fishermen and fisheries biologists learned at-sea lifesaving techniques. During a free raffle, the Long Island Occupational and Environmental Health Center (LIOEHC) donated 15 flotation bibs and Dave Aripotch, captain of the Caitlin & Mairead, won the immersion suit grand prize donated by IMP Marine Group of New Bedford, MA. Fishermen practiced safe water entry with immersion suits (pictured). Some fishermen brought their own suits for inspection and when one fifth of the suits failed, those seafarers decided to replace their defective equipment given its lifesaving role.

—Kara Lynn Dunn and Antoinette Clemetson