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USCG Ramps Up Boating Safety Campaign for Labor Day Holiday

The US Coast Guard is ramping up a boating safety campaign before what should be a busy Labor Day weekend, just days after two men died in a boating accident in the New Haven Harbor. 

The USCG Sector Long Island Sound gave NBC Connecticut an exclusive look into their command center.

“We’re responsible for 23,600 square miles of ocean about 11 hundred miles of coastline,” explained Commander Andrew Ely, chief of response for USCG Sector Long Island Sound.

The command center is where the USCG uses advanced technology to plan search and rescue operations.

“We can apply the last known position of your vessel maybe where you’re coming from or going to, whatever information we have about the case,” said Lt. Cmdr. Michael Friend, command center chief USCG Sector Long Island Sound.

USCG officials say before any boating trip you need to check the weather and leave a plan of where you’re going and when you expect to return with family or friends.

Officials also said owners of paddle boats, kayaks and canoes need to make sure their vessels are labeled with contact information.

“If the vessel drifts away it will help us to find the owner and verify if he’s in distress or not,” said Ensign Rodion Mazin, USCG Sector Long Island Sound.

The USCG life jackets are equipped with life-saving equipment such as a signal mirror, a survival knife, and strobe light. Boaters should be prepared with life jackets and an air horn or whistle to signal from the boat.

Officials said that over 80 percent of casualties that happen in the water happen because people didn’t have life jackets.

Boaters should also avoid consuming alcohol before taking any kind of vessel in the water.

“Safety is paramount. If you are impaired by drinking your judgment is impaired as well, so make sure you don’t drink and drive, it may save your life,” Mazin said.

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