ADDRESSING SAFETY IN
COMPETITION IN TOUGH TIMES
When
you grow up involved in sports as I have, risk isn’t something that
gets thought about on a regular basis. But even at a very early age
there were limits to what I was willing to do. Skydiving for example is
something that if I have to do, I will. But it won’t be by choice!
Interestingly,
competitive bass fishing causes many including myself to take risks
that normally would be considered beyond safe. But because of
improvements in boat manufacturing, pushing the envelope is more about
putting too much trust in our equipment.
Our own recent loss made me think of Dale Earnhardt's accident and the push for better safety in NASCAR.
And while there probably isn't a best time to address this topic after the loss of life at the recent Costa Series event on Lake Okeechobee, it
may be the best time to look for preventative options. Boating accidents are
not uncommon during tournaments but happen often enough that safety regulations
should be put in place by major organizations so that when they do happen steps
are in place to save lives.
My suggestions would be to look at the difference
between how ocean vessels are required to have certain safety equipment in
place because well it's an ocean and help isn't always easy to come by.
We have always been behind when it comes to big
picture safety in bass fishing. A life jacket is the extent of what freshwater
anglers believe they need to be considered safe. Having other fishing boats
near by is often what anglers rely on when any incident occurs.
Because we now have anglers leaving freshwater
launch areas heading out into the ocean as well as anglers traveling hours to
fishing spots, safety measures are needed more than ever before.
We cannot wait for a wake up call or the aha
moment to realize more could have been done.
I encourage BASS and FLW to begin requiring
EPERBS be placed in all boats that activate upon submersion or ending up upside
down as well as EPERBS on lifejackets. The busiest tournament season happens
during winter months when water temps are near 50 degrees which makes response
to these incidents time sensitive. Safety equipment can help immensly with
this.
I also would encourage both organizations to
loosen rules regarding anglers having access to weather radar apps that have
alerts. When I am guiding this tool is a must to keep clients safe and alive.
The same should go for tournament anglers.
Lastly, I would ask that the safety briefing prior
to the tournament include emphasis on anglers understanding when to call the
tournament director. If Anglers wait
until they have a Loss of electrical power, propulsion or bilge pumps it's too
late. It's too easy for us to think of the tournament and put the trolling
motor down and keep fishing but the end result is not worth the risk.
Currently boats run with Power Poles or Talons.
This means anglers no longer keep an anchor in the boat. When everything else
fails a $25 anchor with the bow into the wind can be what saves a life and also
should be required in every tournament boat.
As tournament anglers we have gotten very
comfortable with expecting too much from our boats in bad weather because
accidents rarely happen. But when they do it often results in near death
experiences or loss of life.
Lets follow the lead of NASCAR and be innovative with safety rather than
waiting until it's too late.
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