PALMYRA TOWNSHIP, PIKE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — The rush of the wind, the chill of the water, and the sound of the motor only means one thing; boating season has begun.
“Everything I love about boating is just being on the water. Feeling that breeze, while you’re running around and going out and about, it’s a lot of fun,” said Samantha Viola.
Pocono Action Sports at Lighthouse Harbor Marina on Lake Wallenpaupack has all things for your boating needs.
They just opened for the season this past weekend, but are expecting a huge rush in business for Memorial Day.
Assistant Manager Bailey Vennie says “It’s absolutely, the real kick-off of the season. It’s when the weekends start to get crazy. In a couple of weeks here, we’ll see that the weekdays kind of fill in after that.”
This week marks National Safe Boating Week, a global awareness effort that encourages boaters to be responsible.
In Pennsylvania, the state law requires anyone operating the boat to have a boating license, and those 12 years and under need to wear a proper life jacket.
“You know that a lifejacket fits when it’s snug around your chest, but not too tight and it fits over your shoulders, and if you were to put your thumbs under the lifejacket and pull it up, it doesn’t come passed your ears,” said Vennie.
Viola says another safety step they take is making sure boaters are confident behind the wheel and aware of their surroundings, in case of an emergency such as bad weather.
“We go over a map of the lake, we go over the entire boat with them, making sure they know where lifejackets are, they know how to drive the boat, they know how to stop, slow down, what to do if another boat’s going toward them.”
National safe boating week runs through Friday.
