Mississippi has some of the most intricate waterways in the country. The state offers the bounty of lakes and ponds, rivers and streams, coastline and bayou. In keeping safe and following a few simple tips, you can help keep your and yours safe on the water.
Life Jackets
Each passenger of your boat must have a USCG-approved life jacket aboard and accessible. Besides this, the boat should have at least one throwable (Type IV) flotation device such as a cushion or a ring. If the boat is less than 26-feet overall, any child 12 or younger needs to wear their lifejacket at all time.
Other safety equipment such as marine fire extinguishers, sound making devices, flares, and navigational lights are required for many vessels in Mississippi waters under state or federal law and all are a good idea even if not. For more information about required equipment in Mississippi waters and the MDWFPs safe boating program.
Float Plan
Perhaps the easiest, most effective, and cheapest way to help stay safe on the water is in using a float plan. This is just a simple 'who, what, when and where' of what your voyage is supposed to be left with a responsible person. If you go unaccounted for, overdue, or cannot be contacted, the holder of the float plan needs to call it in to MDWFP or DMR/USCG as needed to report the information on the plan. Be sure to put a description of the boat in the plan to include length, type, manufacture, color and so forth as often callers state that they have no idea when talking to dispatchers. Place a call or text to your float plan holder as you are leaving shore and another when you return so that somebody is watching your back.
As part of your plan, be sure to check the weather before you launch. This includes listening to the National Weather Service's forecasts, checking online sites, and using common sense about boating in potentially bad weather. Along the coast, there are special offshore forecasts.
Radios
If you boat offshore, a marine radio is a must. These VHF band devices run from handheld to stand-alone units can run from $100 to several thousand dollars so be sure to shop around. VHF gives you typically a 20-mile range and the emergency band is Channel 16 (70 if digital) so be sure to monitor those bands for other boaters in distress. More high tech HF radios provide much greater range, up to several hundred miles and for more information on how the Coast Guard monitors these, check out their website.
If you have to make a distress call, do it on the emergency bands, call out mayday three times, then get off the "Big Four" : vessel position, number of persons aboard, nature of distress and a description of the vessel then wait for a response and repeat until you do.
Cellphones are a good back up to radios on inland parts as well as the Mississippi Sound and Barrier Islands often work quite well, just be aware that you may incur offshore roaming rates. Another thing to think about if boating offshore is to invest in a registered EPIRB. This Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon is a 406MHz-band floating beacon that will report its position to satellites and then the Coast Guard. They are generally rigged to automatically turn on when it encounters water and are as affordable as $300.
No booze or showboating
Simply put, do not boat under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The Mississippi Alcohol Boating Safety Act forbids anyone operating a boat powered by a motor of 25hp or more while under the influence of. Breaking this can not only lead to jail time and a $1000 fine, but also cost the lives of innocents.
Even if not under the influence, stay away from operating at excessive speed. On lakes and rivers, this can lead to hitting submerged stumps, logs, and sandbars with disastrous results. Offshore this is even more dangerous as thousands of crab traps lie just under the surface with their mooring buoys ready to ensnare your prop. Divers, spear fishermen, and others also depend on your actions for their safety. South of I-10 DMR takes an especially dim view of jumping wakes, passing within 100 feet of an occupied vessel, or tearing along the coastline or harbors.
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