The Coast Guard urges boaters to be ready as summer nears in the Northwest, it says in a news release.

National Safe Boating Week promotes safe boating practices for recreational boaters in order to reduce preventable accidents and deaths. As air temperatures rise, be advised that water temperatures remain dangerously cold.

In 2019 in the U.S., 86 percent of drowning victims were not wearing a life jacket. Alcohol use is the leading factor in fatal boating accidents at 23 percent.

Other factors leading to deaths were: failure to wear a life jacket, operator inattention or inexperience,drug use, hazardous waters, weather conditions and navigation rule violations.

Life jackets are required by law to be on all vessels, including kayaks, canoes and paddle boards. Federal law requires that all children ages 13 and younger wear a life jacket.

Here are other steps to take to be safe: Take a boating safety course. Research show that boaters believe they are boating safely if they have proper equipment and training, though statistics show that safe boating is really a matter of their own behavior.

Get the Coast Guard Mobile App. The app was mainly designed to provide additional boating safety resources for mobile device users, so personal information is stored on the phone and is not sent to the Coast Guard unless the user chooses to send it.

File a float plan —- Before you leave, create a plan and let someone staying behind know your itinerary. The plan should include the contact information for all individuals going out, the intended route, and what to do in case of emergency or non-arrival at the estimated return time.

Have a portable device. Mariners should have signal flares, a whistle, an emergency position-indicating radio beacon or a personal locator beacon to alert first responders.

Use digital selective call-in. Cell phones may lose signal offshore or run out of battery power. They are helpful but are not reliable for emergencies. Channel 16 is the marine emergency channel to signal distress while on the water.

Always a wear a life jacket. Donning a life jacket is more difficult in the event of a capsizing incident or if knocked unconscious.

Always boat sober. It is illegal to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Help us locate you Take responsibility for your paddle craft by labeling with an ‘If Found’ sticker. This label allows responders to confirm if someone is actually in trouble and collect information to help search efforts.