The good news is that U.S. boating fatalities in 2012 were down from 2011, continuing a downward trend. The bad news is that 651 boaters died from incidents on the water, along with another 3000 injuries significant enough to be reported. As in past years, not surprisingly, alcohol use was a major causative factor, but operator inattention and inexperience continued to play major roles. While the most boats involved were motorboats and personal watercraft, a significant number of incidents involved sailboats. You can download the full report here. And here you can read a series of articles about how to stay safe on your own boat.
