By Morgan Motnalvo
WOAI News
This year's San Antonio Boat Show is showcasing safety as well as pleasure, courtesy of the local U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary flotilla.
Auxiliarists on Saturday and Sunday are offering free courses in emergency communications on the water, and how to select, use and maintain personal flotation devices.
A number of drownings during 2017 in Texas underscores the need for the seminars, says JeanneMarie McNamara, commander of the Auxiliary's local unit. Many of those incidents involved victims - including waterfowl hunters in small craft - who were not wearing life jackets or did not have a way to communicate to shore.
Many boaters, McNamara says, think that cell phones will reach first responders or family ashore, but that's not always the case, especially on larger lakes and when out in the Gulf of Mexico. In addition to how to choose the right radio for each type of vessel, she says, a flotilla instructor will teach attendees how to properly issue a "Mayday!" call for help.
New boating enthusiasts and much of the public, McNamara says, are unfamiliar with laws that require a personal flotation device for each person on board any time a boat enters the water.
The 2018 San Antonio Boat Show opened Thursday at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center downtown; Friday show hours are from noon-9 p.m., as well as 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.