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Coast Guard Aux. Cites May 22-29 As National Safe Boating Week The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary offers this life-saving tip to the thousands of New York boaters and their guests who will be hitting local waters this summer: don’t ride in the bow; it could ruin your day. The danger is compounded in New York City waters by a boat’s wake, the waves generated by a hull slicing through the water too fast or too close to other vessels. New York is a busy harbor, authorities say. High speed ferries, container ships, oil tankers and other commercial vessels all vie for space with the weekend sailor. In any kind of rough water, a boat "acts like a seesaw," explains Tony Reardon, commander of an Auxiliary Flotilla 5-3 in lower Manhattan. "The two ends of a boat, the bow and stem, go up and down like the seesaw, while the middle is relatively calm," he points out. With so much traffic a wake caught the wrong way could spell disaster for a small boat filled with family and friends, especially for the bow riders. May 22-29 is National Safe Boating Week. Here are some tips on how to be safe from wakes. For passengers: *Sit in the middle of the boat or toward the stem, particularly children. *If you stand or move around, have something to hold on to. *Wear a life preserver. The Coast Guard Auxiliary, an all-volunteer organization, is the non-military civilian component of the U. S. Coast Guard that was formed in 1939 to promote boating safety and to facilitate the operations of the Coast Guard.
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