The CASBA’s are Coming!

January 11, 2009 will mark the culmination of the 2008 boating season as the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) presents the Canadian Safe Boating Awards. The CASBAs honour the people, programs, organizations and marinas that are helping to make boating in Canada safer and better for all of us, and keeping the environment clean. The Sheraton Centre, as the Boat Show hotel, will once again play host to this event.

The key to the success of this gala night is the input from our members and the boating public about the deserving boaters and new products. The following awards will be made this year:

• Canadian Power and Sail Squadron's "Rescue of the Year" - An award to recognize a heroic deed or rescue executed on the water in Canada in 2008.
• Marine Professional of the Year - An award to recognize an outstanding act of boating safety by a marine organization professional.
• Top Volunteer Dedicated to Safe Boating - An award to recognize an individual who consistently practices and promotes safe boating in Canada.
• Best Boating Safety Initiative - This award honours a successful safe boating initiative that was conducted in Canada in 2008.
• Safeguarding the Environment - Awarded to the company who has introduced to Canada a boating product or campaign that reduces marine pollution and makes the sport of boating more environmentally friendly.
• Marine Industry - Awarded to a company or individual who has introduced to Canada a boating product or technology improving boating safety.
• Green Marina Environmental Award - This award honours the marina demonstrating the best environmental practices.
• Visible PFD Wear in Advertising - Awarded to an advertiser that consistently or innovatively promotes visible PFD wear.
• Best Media Contribution to Boating Safety - Awarded to a media representative that promotes boating safety in some fashion.
• Special Recognition - Awarded at the discretion of the CASBA Nominations Review Committee for special recognition.

Click here to download a Nomination Form and sign up for an unforgettable evening. Nominations close November 7, 2008.

The Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) invites you to check out our new and improved website.

1. Wear Your Lifejacket
2. Don’t Drink & Boat
3. Take a Boating Course
4. Be Prepared – Both You & Your Vessel
5. Be Aware of Cold Water Risks

Each of these messages was elaborated through numerous real-life stories, audio and video clips portraying the sometimes humorous, but more often tragic, consequences of disregarding these practices. Click here for free access.

Each year, the primary mechanism for dissemination of these messages to the boating public is through the television, radio and print media which the CSBC engages on two fronts:

1. Major media (network television, metropolitan radio stations and daily circulation newspapers) where contact is co-ordinated through a professional media relations firm (Simic Public Relations).
2. Local media (community television, smaller radio stations and weekly circulation newspapers) are approached by a wealth of dedicated campaign volunteers.

Volunteer organizations across Canada—profit and non-profit alike—are key to the overall success of the campaign. They bring a passion for boating safety and are often uniquely positioned, not only to bring the messages to their local media, but also to disseminate our story directly to the general public both on and off the water. In 2008, the volunteer ranks approached 200 individuals nationwide.

In addition to direct media contact, our partners hosted numerous events across Canada as a means of spreading the boating safety message. In Toronto, for example, the Toronto Police Marine Unit hosted a media kick-off event to discuss the need for boaters to employ safe and responsible behaviours on the water throughout the season. Several aerial and marine Search and Rescue (SAR) resources from the Department of National Defense, Canadian Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary and Police units were on hand to demonstrate the SAR capabilities that exist on the western end of Lake Ontario.

Collins Bay Marina and its community partners in the Kingston area hosted a “Don’t Rock the Boat” safety event for boating families with fun and prizes for all. Many chandleries and other marine retail outlets hosted events with demonstrations of safety equipment and seminars on the proper selection and fitting of PFD’s.

Preliminary results for 2008, provided through a media monitoring service, suggest people in Canada received the campaign messaging 54,283,244 times, more than one impression for every person in the country! This is a 26% increase over the 43,005,799 impressions in 2007 and a testament to the efforts of all those who participated in the campaign.

While the name “Safe Boating Awareness Week” tends to suggest a finite timeframe of activity, it is key that we continue with that same fervour throughout the entire boating season to encourage safe boating practices both through continued use of the materials that are available on the CSBC website and, by example, through our own behaviours on the water.

We would like to thank those who have supported us for your invaluable support. We urge and welcome others to become involved in the campaign both for the remainder of this year and in 2009. Those wishing to participate should contact Ian Gilson, SBAW Volunteer Outreach manager.

The CSBC would like to extend its wish that everyone have a safe and enjoyable season on the water.

 Symposium 2008

The CSBC had a wonderfully successful Symposium and Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Viamede Resort on Stony Lake, ON from September 24-26. The weather co-operated and attendance met expectations with over 60 participants, including several who made a special trip for the day. From a financial point of view, the Symposium made a positive contribution to the CSBC’s bottom line.

The program for this year’s Symposium moved in several directions, which were new to the CSBC while other initiatives continued their established support for our members.

Toast and Topics generated its usual plethora of good ideas and input for the CSBC. Updates were received from Transport Canada, the Office of Boating Safety, the Aquanaute Safe Boating Initiative, (a very innovative effort at reaching out to boaters while they’re boating!) and National Safe Boating Awareness Week.

Other presentations included a look into how Standards, Regulations and Certification for boats have had a positive impact on boating safety and how Cold Water Boot Camp will have a tremendous impact on boating safety.

Two different forums were held which had a significant impact on the CSBC. The first was on PFD wear. This brought together new views from the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters (OFAH) and Nature and Outdoor Tourism Ontario (NOTO) as well as input from Paddle Canada and the CSBC’s PFD Task Force.

Of interest was the universal desire to get more people to wear their PFD’s, but different approaches were advocated. Education—it was agreed—will continue to play a role, but the need for new regulation was questioned. Members no doubt benefited from this broader view of the boating community’s interest in this topic.

The second forum looked into drinking and boating. Representatives from the OPP and RCMP and our new Vice Chair, Bob Mineilly, examined the impact of new legislation in Ontario, different provincial approaches, as well as on-water enforcement activities, to better understand the impact of drinking and boating. Again, much of the information was new and underlined several new opportunities for the CSBC.

The Annual General Meeting is seldom a highlight of any get together, but this year it proved to be a more compelling event. A key agenda item was the passing of long overdue by-law amendments for the CSBC, which were unanimously approved by the members. As well, a lively discussion was held on the mandate of the PFD Task Force, resulting in several motions which helped define the CSBC’s long-term goals in this area. Click here to access the new Board of Directors list.

Prior to the closing banquet, Charles Gadula and Peter Garapick were both honoured for their service to the CSBC. Mike Bennett and John Kerr—who were unable to be present—also received awards for their contributions to the CSBC. The CSBC survives—indeed even flourishes—on the efforts of many volunteers and this was a fitting tribute to their efforts over the years. The dinner which followed more than lived up to the expectations the CSBC places on Rick Cassels, our long-serving Symposium Chair.

In closing, it is often said of the CSBC that members “join for the mission but stay for the party” and here again, the Symposium did not disappoint. Several receptions provided members and guests an unparalled opportunity to meet and exchange ideas and the hospitality suite hosted the ever popular “Gin and Topics” discussion group.

 Time to Plan Ahead – Symposium 2009

The Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa in Whistler, BC will host the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC) 2009 Symposium from Saturday, September 19 to Tuesday, September 22.

Co-Chairs Rick Cassels and John Gullick welcome everyone to experience the charms of Whistler just prior to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. Special tours have been initiated at several sports venues and it is widely rumoured that the ever popular Toast and Topics will be held while roller blading down the bobsleigh track. Now that we have your attention, please contact Rick Cassells at  or John Gullick at  with your ideas for a successful event or—better yet—volunteer to present a topic or forum.

Minister of Transport Supports Cold Water Boot Camp

"The Government of Canada is concerned with the average of 149 people who die every year due to cold water immersion," said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities. "This new initiative is providing Canadians with an education program to inform, motivate and change their behaviour, and to increase the survival of boaters when navigating in cold water."

Transport Canada's Office of Boating Safety (OBS), in partnership with Cold Water Boot Camp—an education campaign—would like to raise awareness among Canadian boaters of the deadly effects of cold water during the fall season and remind boaters of important safety rules when navigating on cold water.

The OBS has been working with the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC), one of the major partners supporting this new initiative, and other organizations to implement Cold Water Boot Camp, which was approved in 2007 to run for three years. The Government of Canada is contributing a total of $424,700 to this program through the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund managed by the National Search and Rescue Secretariat.

The best-case scenario for cold water immersion is to reduce or prevent the risk of falling overboard or capsizing. It can be as simple as not overloading your boat or avoiding heavy wave conditions. Always ensure everyone is wearing a Canadian-approved lifejacket because accidents can happen quickly and it is difficult to put a lifejacket on in the water.

“People mistakenly think if they can swim, they don't need a lifejacket. But when water is cold, sudden immersion can cause cold shock, involuntary gasping and deep hyperventilation. This is followed by cold incapacitation and, in a short time, as the muscles and nerves in the limbs get cold, a person will lose the ability to self rescue or even swim," said Ted Rankine, CSBC director. "Far too many people die within swimming distance of safety, such as a boat, dock or the shore, because of the initial effects of cold water immersion."

As part of the project campaign, nine volunteers offered to demonstrate the dangerous effects of cold water by jumping in and experiencing firsthand what happens in 6°C water.

Click here to see what really happens during cold water immersion.

To read the full Transport Canada press release, click here.

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SARSCENE

Thanks to the invitation by CSBC Director Jacqui Bannach, three CSBC Directors, including Chair Al Will, were asked to make presentations to the Prevention Working Group (PWG) on October 15 in St. John’s, NFLD. Bannach is a senior analyst with the Directorate of Policy & Programs of the National Search and Rescue Secretariat, and Chairs this working group. The group includes a representative from each Province and Territory, plus people coming from backgrounds or associations with CCGA, CAC, TC-OBS, CCG, PC, NSS, SARVAC, CASARA and CSBC.

Will provided an overview of the 2008 North American Safe Boating Awareness Week (NASBAW) campaign. Launched in Canada as a partnership between Transport Canada and the CSBC, the campaign is a North American initiative, aligning safe boating messages across the continent. With the Canadian media infrastructure as the backbone and volunteers making it work, NASBAW provided print, radio and television products focused on five key messages, along with a volunteer toolbox for enhancing awareness and outreach.

Barb Byers, CSBC Director and Director Public Education for Ontario Lifesaving Society provided an overview of the Lifesaving Society’s public education campaign focused on changing behavior of high risk target groups including male boaters, toddlers and school-aged children. Byers noted that 90% of drowning victims were not wearing PFDs and that 2/3 drowned within 15 meters of safety.

Ted Rankine, Play Safe Productions, and a CSBC Director provided a brief update on a new SAR Initiative Fund project being submitted for 2009/2010—Prevention in the 1st Degree. The intent of the project is to target three key audiences—the media, the general public and recreationalists—using energetic, updated and engaging messaging to reach high-risk groups.

The three presentations were exceptionally well received. What the Directors realized is that the CSBC needs to do more in communications and education with this target audience. Much needs to be done to inform this influential group about drowning rates and statistics, style options of PFD’s and high-risk target populations.

PWG members were impressed with the CSBCs use and application of boating incidents/accidents and drowning statistics and how we use this data annually to re-focus our NASBAW campaign. Interestingly, this group could not comprehend that, based on our presentations, the wearing of PFD’s/lifejackets is not mandatory and have asked that this be the agenda topic for their next meeting.