CLEVELAND – The Ninth District Coast Guard District is launching “Paddles Up Great Lakes", an educational outreach campaign aimed at raising safe boating awareness among the region’s paddlesports community.
The campaign begins Labor Day weekend and runs through Sept. 10.
“Paddlesports is the fastest growing segment of recreational boating,” said Frank Jennings, Jr., the Ninth District’s recreational boating safety program manager. “Current economic conditions coupled with the modest entry-level cost of paddlecraft have contributed to a surge in the popularity of this sport.”
According to the National Marine Manufacturing Association, 2009 sales of canoes and kayaks totaled 343,600, nearly the number sold the previous year. With the growth of this user group, the Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary are engaging paddlers and paddling groups in the interest of on-water safety. Coast Guard boating safety statistics from 2009 indicate 255 paddlers either died or were injured while paddling on our Nation’s waters. Of those, 120 drowned.