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SAR NEW INITIATIVES FUND

Boaters Will
CLICK WITH US

And so will media and boating safety educators

By Stephanie Rankine, Project Coordinator / SmartBoater.ca

Have you ever searched the Web for some boating safety information related to your type of boating, and instead you found yourself in a sea of Web pages relating to dozens of boating safety issues? If so, you aren’t alone, and that is why the Canadian Safe Boating Council’s NIF project, SmartBoater.ca, was created.

The fact is the information is out there, but the ease of locating and obtaining it is often hard to come by. Enter the SmartBoater.ca Web site, and you will find a single source platform for relevant boating safety information geared towards the public, search and rescue professionals and volunteers, educators and media of all types.

SmartBoater is a three-year project and is in its first year of creation, with a launch of the site occurring in the spring of 2010. SmartBoater.ca is designed to help change recreational boating behaviours on Canada’s waterways by collecting past and present boating safety materials, creating new programs, and making it all available in a comprehensive, well organized format.

Specific activity information

SmartBoater.ca is more than just another boating safety Web site. It will provide the information sorted into specific boating activities, whether it be kayaking, fishing, sailing or power boating. Along the way, partnerships are being forged with water safety organizations, law enforcement agencies and specialized water activity groups to ensure that the messaging is properly crafted and targeted.

The initial role of SmartBoater.ca is to collect boating safety material that is already available throughout Canada. Government agencies, boating safety organizations and many others have produced, and are producing, boating safety material. These rich resources are being identified, sought out and leveraged. Permission for the sharing of relevant material is the first step in populating the easily accessible Web site. As material is collected, it will be reformatted, as necessary, and the sources will be clearly identified. This will ensure that visitors find the information that they are looking for. In addition to the collection process, production of new and original content is also slated. Over the three-year program, new materials in five key boating safety areas will be created. The first year (this year) is focused on cold water awareness and drinking and boating.

Drinking and boating

Ted Rankine speaks to some of the volunteers about the effects and consequences of drinking and boating while the crew is on hand to catch all the action on video. Photo Credit: Eric Bruce

One of our new initiatives was a drinking and boating challenge. Ten volunteers were challenged to demonstrate the difference in their boating capabilities, first while sober, and then after consuming a few alcoholic drinks. In partnership with marine units from the York Regional Police, the Ontario Provincial Police and South Simcoe Police, the volunteers were put to the test in a controlled environment.

An on-water course, a docking exercise and a man overboard scenario were designed to demonstrate the effect that alcohol would have on the safe operation of a vessel. All the activities, including participant interviews, were captured on video tape. The finished product, as well as a variety of video clips, will be available on the site. The results will be an eye opener for the public and media and the downloadable video clips will be useful assets for boating safety educators to use in their outreach activities. This production demonstrated one of the five key messages that will find its way onto the SmartBoater Web site. The other four key messages are: Wear Your Lifejacket, Be Prepared, Take a Boating Course and Be Aware of the Effects of Cold Water.

Target audiences

SmartBoater.ca has been designed to serve three important target audiences; the boater, the media and the boating safety educator, each with their own section on the Web site.

A volunteer, under the watchful eye of not only the marine officer but also the cameras, reaches well over the side of the boat to retrieve the “baby” that has fallen overboard. Photo Credit: Eric Bruce

For the recreational boater, the material will be organized into specific water activities, easy to find and enticing to watch and learn from. If boaters have unanswered questions, they will be able to click on the “Ask the experts” link.

For the media, the Web site will be continually updated with an ongoing series of print and electronic messages, articles and public service announcements available for download and distribution. Since complimentary information will also be available to the public, the media can direct their audience to the Web site for additional information.

The section designed for boating safety educators is a “one-stop-shop” of safety outreach tools. A compilation of existing materials currently used by agencies and organizations across the country, and the collection of newly created materials, will be catalogued and formatted to allow easy identification and downloading. In addition to outreach tools, SmartBoater.ca will also house ideas for lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, and techniques on how to deliver this information.

To attract visitors to the site, a comprehensive public relations and outreach plan has been created that will leverage existing partnerships in media, advertising and viral marketing. Even the name, SmartBoater.ca, is welcoming. It has not been created to command boaters to be boat smart, but rather to commend them for being smart by staying safe each and every time they are on the water.

Over time, it is expected that SmartBoater.ca will become a place where all kinds of boaters will go to obtain interesting and entertaining boating safety information. Media will be able to use SmartBoater.ca as an ongoing resource, and boating safety educators will hopefully depend on the Web site to be their one-stop-shop for outreach materials. The overall result will be better informed boaters on Canadian waters, a safer boating environment, and a reduction of boating incidents.

Stephanie Rankine has spent many years on and around water. A long-time and experienced boater, Stephanie was an active participant with Power Boat Television and past writer for personal water craft safety articles in Boats and Places magazine. Stephanie is now the project coordinator for SmartBoater.ca.

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