U.S. Coast Guard offers tips on water safety amid Fourth of July celebrations
ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - It's one of the biggest boating days of summer. The Fourth of July is here, and thousands of boaters take to our lakes around Metro Detroit.
"Doesn't make sense ... not being on the water, honestly, once you've been out there," says Erin Champlin, a Sterling Heights man who was preparing his boat Tuesday morning for a day of tubing on Lake St. Clair.
Champlin and hundreds of other boaters dock at Blossom Heath Harbor in St. Clair Shores, right next to a U.S. Coast Guard station.
"Know your shoals, know the draft of your vessel, know the hazards," says Petty Officer 2nd Class Kyle Turcott.
CBS News Detroit had the opportunity to go on a Coast Guard vessel Tuesday morning to learn firsthand about how they patrol the water around the holiday.
"We want everyone that goes out on the water to come back," says Turcott. He says boating should be treated just like driving, avoiding alcohol consumption and paying attention to smaller vessels around you like jet skis.
Turcott says a brief safety check is never a bad thing before heading out, like checking that your flares are up to date and that your boat is running properly.
"Check all your life-saving equipment. If you have to, make sure you have life jackets for everybody on the boat, make sure you have your type 4, which is your throwable like a seat cushion or a life ring," Turcott says.
He also talked about flares, and knowing the difference between one being set off and a firework.
"Anybody that is in an emergency situation or distress situation, use your flares but if you're out there on the boat and you see a flare, make sure that it is a flare and not a firework because that could lead to a false distress. That would take us away from a potential, actual real-life situation," he says.
