As National Boating Week kicks off, first responders agencies offer tips on how to stay safe

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — National Safe Boating Week is a weeklong training course for The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and a lot more agencies in Northeast Florida.

For the rest of this week from around 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. those first responder agencies will be working on rescue boats in the St. Johns River practicing search and rescue efforts and boating safety exercises like how to save a sinking vessel.

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U.S. Coast Guard Mayport Station says in the unfortunate situation that a vessel does begin to sink - rescue boats have a barrel called a P6 D watering pump. Essentially it will pump the water out of a boat to keep the vessel afloat.

“We have multiple agencies here,” says Lt. McAlee

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Lieutenant Jeremy McAlee with Nassau County Fire Rescue says the importance of knowing how to be safe on the water can mean the difference between life and death.

“Making sure you have your safety equipment for your vessel. Your life vest, a working VHF radio, your signaling device such as a whistle,” Lt. McAlee said.

That’s why for National Safe Boating Week Lieutenant McAlee and first responders from Nassau County Sherriff’s Department and JSO have come to U.S. Coast Guard Station Mayport for a multi-agency training.

Other agencies included St. Augustine Fire Department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Space Force Crews and St. John’s Country Sheriff’s Department.

Vincent Moreno with the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Public Affairs Detachment in Jacksonville says all agencies will watch a virtual course called “Boat Operator for Search and Rescue. That’s before getting out on the St. Johns River to practice rescuing someone in distress from the water.

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“What this training is going to do is help all the agencies to work at the same level and communication with the coast guard so that whenever there is a search and rescue case all agencies can work together faster,” Moreno said.

A part of learning how to save someone who is in distress includes working with Oscar. He’s a dummy that helps first responders feel the realistic weight of a person whose drowning. Oscar weighs 200 pounds but once he gets in the water, he will feel like 250 pounds.

First responders will also get the opportunity to work with U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Savannah. It’s a helicopter that first responders call “helo” used to help locate missing swimmers off of our coastline.

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The closest rescue helicopters that Jacksonville has are that of Savannah, Georgia, and Clearwater and Miami, Florida according to Moreno.

Collectively all of these agencies would like for you to be extra careful if you are going on the water this week for Memorial Day weekend. JSO’s Marine Unit asks that you not only watch out for yourself but potential nearby manatees as well. An officer in the unit says a lot of manatees have been washed away from their homes as a result of the 2022 hurricane season.

If you have any questions or see any manatees alive, injured or deceased JSO’s Marine Unit ask that you call (904)-256-7575 or (888)-404-3922.

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