A deadly boating accident last year went like this: A boat filled with people not wearing life jackets was cruising up a river on a July evening. The captain, a sober, middle-aged man with no formal boater education, crashed his vessel into something immovable such as a pier, rock jetty, or seawall.
The fatality was a person older than 35, not wearing a life jacket. He was thrown from the vessel during the crash, into the river, and drowned.
That’s a non-scientific composite of a deadly boating crash using the data in this year's Boating Accident Statistical Report by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission, the primary agency responsible for enforcing boating rules and regulations.
The FWC also tallies the previous year’s boating accident data in the report, which details what happened, how and why, and the human results using statistics, charts, and graphs.
In the composite example of a deadly boating accident last year, any one of three things would have almost certainly lowered the number of incidents and injuries: If the captain had formal boater education, which would have taught him to have a spotter, slower speed, and fastened life jackets on everyone aboard.
Boating Safety courses, tips
- Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, must have a Boating Safety Education Identification Card to operate a boat in Florida legally. Sign up for a Florida boating safety course here.
- Tips to help prevent boating accidents.
If all three were in play, there’s a good chance the crash would not have happened in the first place, and, if it did, the person killed would have had a much better chance of avoiding death thanks to the life jacket.
“Year after year, what we see is the leading cause of death in boating accidents is drowning,” said Capt. Rachel Bryant, leader of the FWC’s boating safety unit statewide. “Life jackets save lives, and if people would just put on life jackets -- we always talk about it, we always put that message out there -- it really would reduce the number of drownings we see in these boating accidents.”
Florida is often called the Boating Capital of the World; however, more than a million registered vessels coupled with a sub-tropical climate year-round lead to Florida also being the Boating Accident Capital of America every year.
The Coast Guard reports 10 percent of all vessel incidents in 2023 occurred in the waters of the Sunshine State, nearly double the percentage in the next-highest state, California.
The FWC reports Florida’s boating opportunities inland, along the coast, and offshore. Combine that with a diverse collection of boaters enamored with their days on the water, and that presents a challenge for the FWC and other local and federal maritime enforcement agencies.
In addition to enforcing boating rules and regulations, conducting boating safety campaigns, managing waterways, and maintaining accurate signage, the FWC deals with derelict vessels and investigates stolen boats, vessel theft, and fish and wildlife crimes.
But their highest-profile role is that of “water cop,” easily identifiable in boats decaled with a green line bordered by two gold stripes at an angle down both sides of the boat with a badge in the middle. Behind that, in matching green letters, is “Fish and Wildlife Commission.”
And if you’re still not sure what they are doing on the water, below the abbreviated agency name, in big, all-capital letters: “STATE LAW ENFORCEMENT.”
And the agency’s officers have ample opportunity to enforce boating laws in South Florida where all six coastal counties south of Lake Okeechobee are among the top 10 for vessel accidents. Monroe, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach counties are first, second, and third, respectively. Broward County ranks sixth, Lee County eighth and Collier County ninth.
Florida leads the nation in boating accidents with the Florida Keys leading the state.
Alcohol or drug use played a role in 23% of boating fatalities, which is up 10% from 2022.
People killed while riding personal watercraft such as Jet-Skis and Ski-Doos more than doubled in 2023 compared with the year before, 12 to 5, respectively.
Bryant said a new contributor to the death and injury count is paddleboarders.
“It's a great entry-level into boating. which is exploding in popularity,” she said.
Paddle craft – paddle boards, canoes, kayaks -- don’t have to be registered because they don’t have motors so it’s unknown exactly how many are moving lazily about in the rivers, bays, and surf zones mixed within motor boats, but Bryant guessed the number is at least double the more than 1 million vessels registered in Florida.
“They don't feel that they're necessarily a boater so they're not wearing their life jackets,” she said. “They're just out there enjoying the afternoon on their paddle craft and nothing bad can happen.
“It's a lot of those folks that end up as part of our statistics.”
Sign up for WGCU's monthly environmental newsletter, the Green Flash, today.
WGCU is your trusted source for news and information in Southwest Florida. We are a nonprofit public service, and your support is more critical than ever. Keep public media strong and donate now. Thank you.
