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

— Filed by Greg Larson for Chautauqua Today / WDOE Dunkirk

Oswego, NY, July 4, 2021 - With the weather now starting to cooperate, it should be a "banner weekend" for boating on Lake Erie during the July 4th holiday period. That from Dave White, Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist at New York Sea Grant. 

White spoke about boating safety tips during recent a call-in appearance to WDOE 1040 AM / 94.9 FM's "Viewpoint" program, which is broadcast in the greater Syracuse and Oswego regions. 

White says if you're going to head out on the water, make sure everyone with you has a life jacket, and also have a plan in case of an emergency ...

The clip above: "First thing, whenever you have a problem of any kind, everybody put a life jacket on, you know, you got to go with all the safety precautions. Then you do the analysis of, you know, if it's a medical emergency or, someone's having an issue, its 911. So you can get all of our great friends in blue: our Coast Guard Auxiliary, our Coast Guard, sheriff, state police, park police folks out to help."

White adds that part of a boater's plan should include how to get back in case there is a mechanical problem...

The clip above: "For boaters, it should be part of our planning process to make sure that we are thinking if we do have a problem, how will we get back? And there are a lot of companies out there, TowBoat U.S. SeaTow. There are private companies in and around the area, you know, so it's something you just want to do, an online search to find out if you run into a problem, who is available, whom would you call?"

White says other safety gear — including flares, a fire extinguisher, and a radio -- should be in working order before heading out. He also suggests filing a float plan to let someone know where you intend to go

Viewpoint airs on WDOE Monday through Friday at 8:45am. Dave Rowley has been handling the hosting duties for more than 20 years, interviewing local, county and state elected officials. Community groups are also featured on the 15-minute live interview show. Listeners email their questions to Dave, who includes those inquires in the interviews.


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 34 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, Instagram, 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.