With the lowcountry growing at such an astronomical rate the numbers of boats hitting the water is growing by leaps and bounds. Gone are the days when you went fishing early on a Saturday morning and saw one or two other boats. Now you are likely to see plenty of other boats along with several jet skis, and probably even some kayaks. As the crowds grow, so do the number of people that do not have experience operating watercrafts, are not aware of many of the rules of the road and some of the dangers that come with crowded waterways full of people. Just like riding down the road, boaters must now be more aware of what is going on around them and realize other people are not always going to know or follow the rules. I’ve seen many near accidents on the water caused by people either not paying attention to others around them, maybe paying too much attention to others around them and not where they are going:), or simply thinking that the person in the other boat knows what they are doing, when they really don’t. Combine all of this with the fact that many people consume alcohol on the boat and you have a recipe for disaster. Unlike a car, boats do not have many safety features and a boat on boat or boat on dock collision often times ends up with fatalities.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has a great website, for new and experienced boaters. The address is http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/ Within their website they have a great section on boating safety under the boating section of their site. Within it you will find a printable form of The Handbook of South Carolina Boating Laws and Responsibilities. This is a great FREE resource to help new boaters understand many things about their boat and how to boat safely and within the laws of out state. There is nothing worse than doing your best to operate your vessel safely, only to get a fine because you over looked a rule. It is even worse to have someone else’s death on you hands because you were negligent in learning about your watercraft before