Expert says boating safety often ignored
RICHARD WEIZEL


STRATFORD — Two weeks ago, former Stratford police detective Richard C. Bennett drowned while fishing in a canoe in the frigid waters of Woodbridge Lake in Goshen.

The 63-year-old former officer, who retired in 2002 after serving 25 years on the local police force, died after his canoe suddenly tipped over.

It's a tragedy that is becoming all too common among the rapidly growing number of people using canoes and kayaks, said Bill Rock, chairman of the town's Waterfront and Harbor Management Commission.

"The problem is that so many more people are using paddle boats, but there is no requirement in most states like Connecticut to take a safe boating training course first," Rock said. "Anybody can go down to a local store and buy one for just a few hundreds dollars and be in the water within a half-hour."

That has often been a fatal combination.

Throughout the country, about half of boating fatalities now involve people in canoes and kayaks less than 20 feet in length. Ninety percent of those casualties have life jackets in the boat, but aren't wearing them, Rock said.

To help educate new paddle boaters about the dangers, Rock said, the Waterfront and Harbor Management Commission is sponsoring a program to emphasize the town's water safety plan. The event — set for 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Birdseye Street launching ramp — is open to the public.

The water safety plan is an agreement of cooperation and communication among the Stratford police and
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fire marine units, the harbormaster and Flotilla 24-02, of the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, which will all have representatives at Tuesday's event.

The event also coincides with National Safe Boating Week that begins May 17. Rock said that because Stratford has one of the longest stretches of contiguous waterfront in the state, it is crucial to stress boating safety here.

"Traditionally, National Safe Boating Week has focused on power and sail boating and the use of life jackets," Rock said. "This year there is an additional emphasis on paddle craft."

Kayaking is the fastest growing outdoor activity in the country, Rock said. According to the American Canoe Association, the number of people who actively participate in kayaking has increased over the past decade from 2.5 million to more than 11 million.

"The lack of requirements to take a safe boating course, as is mandated for new power boaters in many states, leaves most novices without the basic concepts of proper seamanship or boating safety," Rock said.

"People are also not aware this time of year because it is warm outside, how cold it is in the water, which is generally about 50 degrees and contributes to many deaths," Rock said.