Four Manatee County boat ramps among those newly selected for ‘Life Jacket Loaner Stations’
The Sea Tow Foundation, thanks to funding from the West Coast Inland Navigation District, is hoping additions of new stations and restocking of their existing life jacket loaner stations at area boat ramps will reduce the potential of an unnecessary tragedy on the water.
WCIND and the Sea Town Foundation announced Wednesday that it will install life jacket loaner stations at select boat ramps in the area while restocking existing stations.
New funding will open eight new stations in the area, including four in Manatee County:
- Coquina Beach South Ramp, 1465 Gulf Drive S., Bradenton Beach.
- Warner’s Bayou, 5868 Riverview Blvd., Bradenton.
- Kingfish Boat Ramp, 752 Manatee Ave. W., Holmes Beach.
- Riverside Park Boat Ramp, Riverside Drive and Ninth Ave. W., Palmetto.
A 2019 Coast Guard report noted that 84 percent of boaters involved in drownings and other fatal accidents were not wearing a life jacket.
“Life Jacket Loaner Stations are placed in locations where boaters will have easy access to life jackets,” WCIND wrote in a prepared statement. “Boaters may borrow the life jackets at no cost and are asked to return them when they are finished so that they are available for others to use.”
The life jackets are available in all sizes from infant to adult.
“We are incredibly thankful for the funding from WCIND to provide these life jackets and loaner stations for boaters in the region,” said Gail Kulp, executive director for Sea Tow Foundation, a nonprofit designed to educate boaters on safety. “Now families can conveniently borrow a life jacket for every member of the family to ensure everyone will be safe on their next boating trip.”
To see what other boat ramps already offer the program, visit boatingsafety.com/map.