{"id":8622,"date":"2015-05-21T11:38:36","date_gmt":"2015-05-21T15:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=8622"},"modified":"2017-04-14T16:23:20","modified_gmt":"2017-04-14T20:23:20","slug":"stay-safe-on-the-water-what-to-know-before-you-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2015\/05\/21\/stay-safe-on-the-water-what-to-know-before-you-go\/","title":{"rendered":"Stay Safe on the Water: What to Know Before You Go"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7399\/11806843886_9178f1ebe7_c.jpg\" alt=\"Lifegaurd at Sandy Point State Park \" width=\"518\" height=\"346\" \/>Whether jet skiing across the Bay or\u00a0surfing the waves of the Atlantic, there is no better relief from a hot Maryland day than a cool, refreshing dip in the water. With Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer right around the corner, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reminds swimmers, boaters, anglers\u00a0&#8212;\u00a0everyone headed out on the water\u00a0&#8212;\u00a0to develop a precautionary safety and rescue plan\u00a0and\u00a0know the following tips before heading out.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>DNR offers the following tips:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Pay special attention to children and inexperienced swimmers.<\/strong> Insist they wear a well-fitting Coast Guard-approved life jacket in and the around water<\/li>\n<li><strong>Obey lifeguards and warning signs that alert swimmers to dangers.<\/strong> Be aware of any surrounding signs or markers that indicate current water conditions<\/li>\n<li><strong>Never swim alone or while impaired. <\/strong>The sun, wind and water can take their toll. Alcohol magnifies this fatigue and impairs judgment.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Carry a cell phone<\/strong> to contact emergency personnel if a situation arises. Let someone on land know where you are going and when you expect to return.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stay alert and check local weather conditions<\/strong>. Storms come up suddenly. Wait at least 30 minutes before resuming activities after the last clap of thunder or flash of lightning.<\/li>\n<li><strong>If you get caught in a rip current, stay calm and don\u2019t fight it. <\/strong>Swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current. Once you are free, turn and swim toward shore. If you can\u2019t swim to the shore, float or tread water until you are free of the rip current and then head toward shore.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If an emergency occurs, immediately call 911 and remember to <strong>Reach, Throw, Row and Go<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p><strong>REACH<\/strong>\u00a0the person in trouble by extending a releasable item, such as a pole, line or rope to pull them to safety, but not by hand as the rescuer could quickly become another victim.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THROW<\/strong>\u00a0an object that floats to the victim if they are unreachable. A life ring, life jacket, cooler or plastic jug are suitable floating objects that can keep a troubled swimmer afloat until help arrives.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ROW<\/strong>\u00a0to the victim, using a canoe or any other safe watercraft. The rescuer must wear a life jacket. Once the victim is nearby, a rope or paddle should be extended and used to tow the victim to shore if possible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>GO<\/strong>\u00a0to the victim by entering the water as a last resort and ONLY if properly trained. The rescuer should bring an object to keep the victim afloat and to prevent being pulled under.<\/p>\n<p>For more on water safety and to view water quality reports on locations across Maryland,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/mddnr.chesapeakebay.net\/eyesonthebay\/swim_beach_info.htm#County_Info_sites\" target=\"_blank\">click here.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Check out the Natural Resources Police\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2015\/05\/15\/nrp-steps-up-patrols-as-boating-season-gets-underway\/#more-8581\" target=\"_blank\">boating safety tips and reminders here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether jet skiing across the Bay or\u00a0surfing the waves of the Atlantic, there is no better relief from a hot Maryland day than a cool, refreshing dip in the water. With Memorial Day weekend and the start of summer right around the corner, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources reminds swimmers, boaters, anglers\u00a0&#8212;\u00a0everyone headed out<a href=\"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2015\/05\/21\/stay-safe-on-the-water-what-to-know-before-you-go\/\">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the Rest&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,3171,12,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-boating","category-parks","category-nrp-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8622"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8622\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8631,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8622\/revisions\/8631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}