NEW YORK- As boating season begins across New York, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association is urging residents to wear life jackets and follow safe boating practices while enjoying the state’s waterways.

Speaking during a safety event at the Albany Yacht Club, Juan Figueroa, Ulster County Sheriff and President of the New York State Sheriffs’ Association, said wearing a life jacket remains one of the most effective ways to prevent boating deaths.

“With more than 428,000 registered recreational powerboats and thousands of paddle craft across New York State, the New York State Sheriffs encourage all boaters to boat responsibly, wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket, carry proper safety equipment, and never operate a boat while impaired,” Figueroa said.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, drownings account for 76 percent of all boating fatalities nationwide, and 87 percent of drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket.

State officials said New York recorded 136 boating accidents in 2024, resulting in 54 injuries and nine deaths.  Four of those fatalities involved paddlers.  Drowning was listed as the cause of death in six cases, and only two of those victims were wearing life jackets.

The campaign coincides with National Safe Boating Week and promotes the Coast Guard’s “Wear It” initiative, which encourages boaters, kayakers and canoeists to wear Coast Guard-approved flotation devices while on the water.

Sheriffs from across the state also stressed the importance of complying with Brianna’s Law, which now requires all operators of motorized boats in New York to obtain a boating safety certificate.

The law, enacted in 2019, was named in memory of an 11-year-old girl killed in a boating accident.  The required boating safety course includes instruction on navigation rules, boating laws, and trailering safety.