Getting in the water this holiday weekend? Put that life jacket on
May 23, 2025, 5:00 AM
Life jackets pile up aboard a ship. (Photo: Jeremias Gonzalez, The Associated Press)
(Photo: Jeremias Gonzalez, The Associated Press)
The holiday weekend is almost here, and it will be warm. Are you heading out on the water? Put on your life jacket!
Washington has seen 23 boating deaths in the past two years. Officials said 61% of those involved paddle sports, like kayaking or canoeing.
“Eighty-six percent of those fatalities were not wearing life jackets,” Rob Sendak, the state’s boating law administrator, said.
Officials urge life jackets for boaters
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Today is the last day of National Safe Boating Week. Sendak recommends that anyone who gets in the water wear a life jacket.
“It’s our mission to save lives,” Sendak said.
U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Tom Bower told KIRO Newsradio that when someone gets in trouble, time is of the essence.
“That’s the hardest thing for any—I think any law enforcement agency or search and rescue agency would say the same thing—because of the cold water that we have here,” Bower said.
Puget Sound is only in the lower 50s right now. Sendak urges everyone to wear a life jacket, no matter how calm the water looks. Officials said paddlers are especially at risk in spring and early summer.
