Boating safety: Men far more likely to drown than women

With summer just around the corner, a reminder from the Quebec Lifesaving Society: Don't become a statistic.

As many as 435 Quebecers have drowned in the last five years in boating and swimming incidents.

Most of the victims are men.

“People should know exactly what they're getting into when they get into the water,” said Yves Paquette of the Quebec Nautical Council.

In Quebec, on average, 87 people drown every year; 85 per cent of those are male. Of those, 40 per cent were consuming alcohol.

More than 80 per cent of people who drowned weren't wearing lifejackets.

Raynald Hawkins of the Quebec Lifesaving Society said men often don't wear them, because they overestimate their swimming ability.

“They say, I know, I’ve practiced my boating activities or my fishing activities for the last three decades. I never need my lifejacket, so why will I this summer, for example,” he said.

To obtain a boating licence, a boater simply needs to pass a theoretical test, but there is no practical test.

Some say there are too many unsafe boaters on the water.

“Especially those motorboats, they don't know their buoy and they go very fast and it's a real danger,” said boater Patrick Meilleur.

Motorboat drivers aren’t the only ones displaying unsafe behavior, added boater Gilles Tanguay.

“We see sometimes very small boats – kayaks, or whatnot – across the river in front of big cargo ships and of course the cargo here cannot stop, cannot turn, cannot veer,” he said.

On the water, sudden waves can present a challenge, and many drivers don't realize there are more factors than when driving a car.

The Quebec Boating Council hopes more boaters will take driving lessons, even if they aren't mandatory.

“If you're too close from the ship, you may get into trouble easily, so it is important to be able to recognize all these factors,” said Paquette.