Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High 81F. Winds light and variable..

A few clouds. Low 61F. Winds light and variable.

With summer in full swing, it’s a good time to spend a moment considering your dock safety practices. 

Unfortunately, falls off the dock happen far too often. Earlier this summer, a man who had been working on his dock was found floating face down in the water with no PFD. It’s advisable to wear a life jacket while performing routine dock maintenance and climbing on and off your boat to tidy up or prepare for an outing. The inflatable “horse collar” styles are comfortable and un-encumbering, but the ski-vest style will provide protection for ribs should you misstep and slip between the dock and the boat. Area doctors will confirm that they see lots of scrapes and breaks from falls around the dock.

Another best practice: wear that life jacket anytime you are on a dock, in a boat or around the water. Accidents are never planned ... and happen in the blink of an eye. Just recently, a PWC at high speed T-boned a large family runabout with four adults and five children aboard. Fortunately, the boat’s occupants were all wearing life jackets; there was clearly no time for them to dig them out of lockers and put them on before the boat sank. Life jackets save lives, as shown in this accident right here on SML.

For more than 45 years, I have managed pools, waterfronts and beaches. Equipment and training are lifesavers. The Boy Scouts of America have a lifesaving slogan that says, “Reach, Throw, Row and Go” — the order in which to apply life-saving techniques in a deep-water rescue.

“Reach” means use an arm, leg, towel, paddle or pole for a nearby victim to grasp. Most drownings, statistics show, happen within six feet of safety! A shepherd’s crook can be stored on the dock to hook onto an unconscious swimmer, child or pet and drag them to safety.

There’s more to this story in the current issue of the Smith Mountain Eagle newspaper. If subscribed, view the rest of the story in the e-edition version at www.smithmountaineagle.com/eedition . If not subscribed, pick up a print edition or subscribe at www.smithmountaineagle.com/subscriber_services .

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular videos.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!

Would you like to receive our daily news?  Signup today! 

Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email.