GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – With the Memorial Day Weekend just around the corner, many are making plans to head outdoors.
And for some, that includes boating on the waters of Green Bay.
Officials have some advice when it comes to safety on the water.
At the Metro Boat Launch along the Fox River in Green Bay, Bill Vine and his angling partner Mike Spanbauer were heading out to fish ahead of an upcoming walleye tournament.
Spanbauer tells FOX 11 the boat is filled with fishing gear and safety equipment too.
“We have the flares, and we have life jackets, and underneath, we have life jackets. We play it safe.”
Playing it safe is what The U.S. Coast Guard wants to see.
National Safe Boating Week kicks off on Saturday.
Greg Bergner, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, says a major focus is getting all people to wear the life preservers boaters are required to carry, including one designed to fit a 30-pound infant.
“It’s got a strap here, and they’re all strapped in. If they do go in the water, even if they’re face down because the flotation will put them right up.”
And there’s another concern and that’s how cold the water is.
The Coast Guard says this week, temperatures out on the Bay measured in the low 40s.
Doctors say that can lead to a very dangerous situation.
“Hypothermia is when your temperature drops rapidly. Your body loses function and you can pass away from that,” said Dr. Jocko Zifferblatt, HSHS St. Vincent Hospital Emergency Services Director.
Zifferblatt says within 10 minutes, people become numb and sluggish. He says even good swimmers may last only about an hour in 40-degree water.
“And that’s why we emphasize wearing life jackets.”
Spanbauer says people sometimes don’t have any common sense.
“They go out there, and don’t have any life jackets, or don’t wear them. Because if you fall in, with what you got on, you’re done.”
The U.S. Coast Guard says life jackets can help prevent a tragedy when boating.
According to the Coast Guard Auxiliary Station Green Bay, 80 percent of deaths that happen on the water are the result of drowning.
Of those deaths, 83 percent were people who were not wearing a life jacket.
Coast Guard officials remind boaters children under the age of 12 are required to wear a life jacket.
Among states, Wisconsin had the 9th most boating deaths last year, with a total of 20.
If you’re not sure if your life jacket is in good condition, you can get it checked free this Saturday.
The U.S. Coast Guard will hold an open house from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at its Green Bay station.
