Safety Summit
 

As Owner/Publisher of Extreme Boats Magazine, I believe that 'Boating Safety' is very important for the overall health and longevity of the Industry. The discussion of increased safety is not aimed at slowing the boats down, nor does it require the 'fun' factor to be diminished.

Increased Safety simply means: "Increased Safety" - pure and simple.

While the discussion is good, now is the time for action. For our part, Extreme Boats Magazine is bringing together an industry wide group of boating manufacturers, boating event promoters and marine organizations who collectively believe we can advance the level of safety at recreational boating events. The role of the publication is that of facilitator, providing a forum for people from across the industry to lend their knowledge and experience - for the benefit of everyone.

This is an open invitation to all manufacturers, event promoters, event sponsors and boating publications to participate in a round table discussion on Boating Safety at the Miami Boat Show on Friday February 17th. The goal of the meeting is to increase the awareness of Safety for the 2006 Season. It's a very desirable and achievable goal, and a goal I believe we all share.

Casey Kiernan, Publisher
Extreme Boats Magazine

Re: Safety Summit
 

Would you like to share any comments on this meeting that took place in Miami ?

Who attended ?

What were their thoughts and suggestions ?

What changes should we expect in the 2006 season ?

If anyone from OSO attended, can you update the forum please ?

Re: Safety Summit
 

Good idea. Please keep us all informed.

Re: Safety Summit
 

The meeting was priceless a little early being I had just got in at 4am and 7am came around pretty quick to get up and get ready. But this meeting will go down in HISTORY as 1 man at the meeting stated. I don't think I could of chose any better words for the meeting then just that. I think we were all on the same page with safety and drinking during a run and communication. We all feel life vests are a must 1 poker run association stated he did not want to be liable in court if someone was trapped under a boat with a vest , and he enforced everyone to wear life vests. He was straightened out real quick by a lawyer that was present, he is involved with a dealership and very very knowledgeable of boating and laws and stated its required as preventive life safety it would look 100 times better in court if you mandate vests. One sponsor stated he would never sponsor a event if life jackets were not enforced, that caught a lot of peoples attention. the panel was awesome and had great knowledge and very informational. This meeting will lead to some changes from most poker run events. And for the other poker run organizers that were not there you know who you are, please call APRA and get the minutes you should of invented the possibility of being there all were invited and your input would of been appreciated. The poker run future is at stake! Thank you to all that were there and for the knowledge I picked up from this meeting and a special thank to APRA.

Re: Safety Summit
 

It was a great privalage to be amoung you guys who are the Neighman Marckes of performence boating. There was lots of Ideas and input that was shared at this meeting. But coming from the Dollor General end of performence boating it will take me some time to get my events to move in these directions. I am embarressed to say why... but I will tell you all . My Radical Boat Reunion has featured a Friday nite meet and greet with free Mich lite flowing non stop,a saterday river tour, an all you can eat prime rib meal in the evening, a live band party with drink special and an event T-shirt all for $35 [thirty five] and my group has complained b*tched and complained about the price and could appreciated my effords more. I want to provide more at my events and want to do this in the safest manner possiable. My groups budgets are of concern. I will try to keep in contact with all of you who are so knowlegable a bout boating events to try to move forward ....again thank you for letting me look at your world .... Think about coming to an RBR

Re: Safety Summit
 

I surely hope that these kind of festivaties (beer flowing for free all night long) are done after all the boats are put away!!! :( :( :(

Re: Safety Summit
 

Because there were 2 meetings held in Miami, APRA and the second one being the Extreme Mag Meeting, when replying to this thread could you please state which meeting you attended?

Bojoe,
It sounds like the APRA meeting was really packed with some VIPs from every part of the hi-performance boating world!
I am glad to see their participation.

Re: Safety Summit
 

Yes Tim it was WHOS WHO in the room with great nput and no one held back. The moderator had to stop some topics to move us along it went from 830 - 11am with a short stretch break. tons of great points brought up. I think a lot of groups will follow.

Re: Safety Summit
 

I was at both meetings. I am one of the coordinators of the Chicago Poker Run. Both meetings went very well.

The PRA meeting hit on specific topics. Each topic was discussed in detail. An area that was most informative to me was canopy boats. A canopy boat is more dangerous for people getting trapped in the boat if they do not have proper construction and escape hatches. Dunk tank certification is very important. They say you get totally disoriented when flipped upside down several times and panic waiting for equalized pressures b/4 opening hatches. Then there is the issue with properly trained rescue divers for unconscious boaters. No credit for 1st to bridge or pin. Vest 100% of the time. The meeting was held at 8am which allowed many manufacturers to come to that meeting.


The Extreme Boat safety Summit was focused on creating a panel of poker run experts seperate from the magazine that focuses on poker run safety. The campaign is called "B SAFE" for boating events. This panel has develped a set of guidelines (best practices) for poker run event organizers. These guidelines help event organizers review areas of safety they may not have overlooked. I feel most of the larger poker run organizers were present from west to east coast for this meeting.

The next step is to get both orginizations working together. Marc Blondin pointed out that we need to prevent "politicing" like APBA/SBI vs. OSS. Racing is a serious sport but ruined by politicing. Poker Runs are a fun sport and we need to rid the politicing and work together to advance the sport safely.

Mark Smith
Chicago Powerboat Club
Chicago Poker Run

Re: Safety Summit
 

Thanks for your input Mark...

And also the package you sent has arrived. :drink:

It is much appreciated! Thank you!!!

Re: Safety Summit
 

It took a while but I sent it to you. I hope you received the disks.

I still owe Strip Poker a shirt for 2 years. :eek:

Re: Safety Summit
 

I attended the APRA meeting, and must agree with "raceboat rus". The focus was on what I call the upper echelon Poker Runs where they have major concerns about the 150mph boats, canopy boats, etc. Obviously, this is where the big money is, and where safety must be a big priority.

I'd hate to see a set of rules/guidelines setup that only revolve around those types of events. Heck, I'll be participating in a poker run this summer that allows 14' tri-hulls to enter. Do those folks need to wear a $500 life jacket?

I've already sent a 3-page letter off to APRA with other comments and suggestions.

Re: Safety Summit
 

Steve,
Were you there for the entire meeting? :confused:
The feed back I have been getting didn't give me the impression that I am reading in your post.

From what I hear, the APRA meeting went very well and very professional. Everyone was polite and kindly waited their turns to speak.

Some topics of discussion that were covered were Life Jackets, Mufflers, Alcohol, Canopies and Speed Limits.

I understand at least one company also stated that any Poker Run that does not make it mandatory to wear a life vest of some type in their events, the company will not sponsor their event.
There was a huge presence of representitives from Boat Manufacturers, Mercury Marine, CMI, Teague, Powerboat Magazine and the Insurance Industry just to name a few.

The attendance was huge and they all seem to have one thing in mind, keep the events as safe as possible for everyone. Not just the "upper echelon Poker Runs"
As one example, you had several reps from many different Poker Run Organizations.
Two of those organizations allowed me to enter with a 13 foot mini offshore boat. I did wear my life jacket on all the runs I attended and had a great time in all of them..
I think after you see the final results of what came out of the meeting you will be pleased.
It would be my guess, they will not require everyone to be in a $500 Lifeline if you are running under a certain mph.

When I receive a full recap of the meeting, I will be sure to post it.

Thank you for any additional comments and suggestions you have sent to APRA.
Looking forward to a Safer 2006 Season.

Re: Safety Summit
 

I was sitting near the door, next to the lawyer who offered to help with release forms. Black cap on, white t-shirt. Stayed for the whole thing.

..and I'm not bashing anything that was discussed, but if someone wants to develop a set of "universal" poker run rules, they need to be adaptable for all types of Poker Runs.

Re: Safety Summit
 

Steve,

The only reason why I asked was because I was told that the canopies were discussed later in the meeting. There was a short break, then more discussion carried on afterwards. So I thought by chance you weren't there at 8:30 AM.

Either way, as said, they are looking out for everyone at "all" events whether a participant or a spectator.

Thank you again for making the meeting and forwarding your comments...


Welcome aboard Mr Febres! :drink:

Re: Safety Summit
 

Mark,

I am a bit confused here. :confused:

I know of the APRA organization that produces and sanctions Poker Runs, but what is the 2nd organization that you are referring to that produces and sanctions Poker Runs? :confused:

Re: Safety Summit
 

Sharkey, first of all, I am a nobody nor will I ever claim to be a somebody. Don't take anything I say as law. I am just a dumb boater that has a fun time boating because it is my passion.

Topic of conversation: Safety Summit.
1. Extreme Boats Magazine creates "B Safe" panel of experts.
2. APRA creates safety panel of experts.
I never said "produces and sanctions Poker Runs" in any of my posts. Maybe I should of used "panel of experts" instead of organizations.

The good news that I heard is that 2 key players met, and I hope the air was cleared on this hot topic.

Re: Safety Summit
 

No problem Mark...

I thought maybe I missed something.

Extreme publishes a magazine and does't put on Poker Runs.
I thought maybe there was a separate organization other than the APRA I wasn't aware of...

Thanks for the update!

I am sure we all will have a much safer boating season after all of this....

Re: Safety Summit
 

Sharkey Knows All.................... :d

Re: Safety Summit
 

Believe me, I was there at 8:30, the hangover was killing me.... :D :D

Re: Safety Summit
 

My company is a member of (or sits on):
NMMA, Boating Safety Advisory Council & USCG Propeller Injury Avoidance Steering Committee, Boating Industry Risk Management Council, Accessory Standards Committee, N.A.S.B.L.A. Boats & Associated Equipment Committee -just to name a few... Due to a scheduling conflict I was unable to attend Miami. My co-worker that did attend was involved in industry meetings.
Did the issues of lanyards or kill switches ever come up in either meeting?
Can someone please advise?

Re: Safety Summit
 

No.

Re: Safety Summit
 

cig you and me both had hungovers but had to be there to give inpute and absorb all that was said :drink:

Re: Safety Summit
 

I was not there, but the President of NJPPC was at the APRA meeting. He has been appointed to the Safety Panel representing the clubs.

Here is a list of the NJPPC's guidelines for their runs. The club has offered any club to adopt these simple rules for their events.

Item number 3 should cover what you are looking for:
Click here for 10 Commandments

Re: Safety Summit
 

No passing the pace boat?????when...the whole time i would presume :eek:

Re: Safety Summit
 

When the pace boat drops the flag, it is no longer considered to be the pace boat. An important point where applicable.

LanyardSafety - Lanyard usage is included in the APRA rules as well as the 10 Commandments. The two sets of rules overlap about 90%. If we had done a little more research at the time, we might have simply adopted APRA/PRA's rules as the "14 Commandments".

Re: Safety Summit
 

APRA Safety Summit

I'm sorry that I have not been able to write this letter sooner. I have been traveling a lot and right now the marine finance business is keeping me very busy!

The purpose of this letter is to merely share my opinion on the meeting. A lot of people have called me to ask what took place? I want everyone to know that I am not speaking on behalf of anyone except myself.

The meeting took place Friday during the Miami show at 8:30am at the Miami Convention Center right on time as planned. Amazingly by the time the meeting started, the room was filled with key players from most performance boat manufacturers, engine builders, after market suppliers, boat dealers and insurance companies.

Going into the meeting there was definitely some apprehension in regard to how the meeting would flow since there were some conversations prior to the meeting where some strong opinions were shared.

The meeting opened up with s brief statement from Bill Taylor expressing concern for the safety of the sport and how essential it is for all poker run organizers, participants, boat manufacturers and dealers to be proactive regarding the safety of our sport. Bill also outlined examples of other sports such as snowmobiles, atv's and as of late personal watercraft that have become excessively regulated and adversely affected those sports.

Richard Crowder of APRA took the reigns of the meeting and explained to everyone that he was only a moderator to ensure that the meeting stayed on topic and time lines due to the limited amount of time we had due to the show opening at 10am.

Richard introduced the panel that consisted of the following people:

Brian Ross - Ross's Offshore Performance Center

Representing Safety Committees

Bob Christie of Typhoon Performance Marine

Representing Hi Performance Boat Dealers

Dave Patnaude of NJ Performance Powerboat Club

Representing Poker Run Organizers

Graham Neale of Insurance Consultant

Representing the Insurance Industry

Sonny Hawkins of Tiger Performance

Representing Safety & Communications

Larry Boyd of Poker Runs America

Representing Poker Runs America

Pierre Savoie ; Executive Director APRA

Representing APRA

The agenda was pretty straight forward and included the following:

Background of the APRA
Recapping current APRA rules
Current Issues to review:
PFDs
Communications
Alcohol
Noise / Mufflers
Controls on speed
Canopied Boats
Open Discussion

Some great ideas came from the audience during the meeting. Some of the main people that I can recall who shared ideas were Billy Frenz of NPBA, Chris Cestaro of Ocean Perfomance, Bob Teague of Teague Custom Marine, Mark Blondin of Smoke on the Water Poker Run, Tony Esposito of CMI, Randy Sciscm of MTI, Chuck Sprague of Penske / CBPBA, Brad Schoenwald of Tres Martin Boating School and many more. I am sorry I cannot remember them all.

The feedback from the panel and especially the audience was phenomenal. I myself being a poker run organizer for 8 years came away with some new interesting ideas as a result of the discussion.

The meeting primarily addressed new ideas and thoughts that were to be in addition to the already established safety guidelines established by the APRA.

Re: Safety Summit
 

APRA Safety Summit Page 2

Agenda topics that were discussed:



PFDs - The group addressed the basic ideology of whether or not life jackets should be mandatory? The minority in the room expressed that they should not while the majority believed strongly that they should. We also discussed what kind of jackets should be acceptable and which ones should not? We also had the opportunity to hear from an attorney in the room who also presented the "legal" ramifications of what to do or not to do. Overall a lot of good ideas were shared.



Communications; The obvious ideas shared focused on VHF, 2 Way Radios, cell phones, etc. The interesting ideas shared encompassed providing important phone numbers as well as communicating with the local authorities. This was very insightful to everyone. We listened to what different groups around the country do to get their local law enforcement and politicians involved in poker run events. The communication topic also touched on the industry as whole needing to send a positive message in advertising and media coverage. Examples mentioned were that more ads need to feature people wearing life jackets. Powerboat Magazine stated that they will not publish any photos from any poker runs where the participants are not wearing life jackets. This was a very interesting topic. A lot of new ideas came about for a lot of producers in the room.



Alcohol; I think we pretty much all agreed that alcohol should be banned totally until events are over. This includes all participants of poker runs including riding crew. No one shared a dissenting opinion.



Noise / Mufflers; This topic also brought a lot of different ideas to the table regarding local area law enforcement and permits.



Controls on speed; Should there be speed limits at poker runs? The answer is that for the most part there are already speed restrictions in place by utilizing pace boats at events. The only outstanding question that was not definitively resolved was speed limits on the "open water" once the boats are no longer under pace boat control.



Canopied Boats; This was a very interesting topic and Randy Scism and Bob Teague gave excellent insight to this topic. These 2 gentlemen without a doubt had the most experience in the room regarding these boats. The greatest concern that was voiced is that some manufacturers are producing what could be potentially "unsafe" canopied boats.



It was pretty much agreed that there is no safer boat on the water when a professionally trained team is in a canopied boat and that canopied boat is equipped with the proper safety equipment and escape hatches.



It was also pretty much agreed that at poker runs there really is not proper safety support to ensure a canopied boat occupant's safety. We also talked about the idea that there should be a separate waiver for those participants who run canopied boats. There was also discussion on just having canopied boats on display as show pieces but not to allow them to enter poker runs.



All of this information was a lot to squeeze into only a few hours but the ideas and opinions shared were priceless. A lot of people that attended the meeting had a lot of positive things to say afterward.



A few poker run producers made comments after the meeting that the meeting was "self serving" to APRA and Poker Runs America. I really have to disagree with those comments. At no time during the meeting was any membership to APRA or the promotion of participating in any Poker Runs America events ever mentioned or encouraged. I find it a shame that such comments were made when so much good came out of the meeting.



Many people after they attended both safety meetings that day stated that there needs to be unity in the poker run community and that there is no room for politics. I believe that the poker run community has enjoyed unity and has been politics free since it's inception as a sport. This has been demonstrated by the cross attendance of participants and organizers from around the country at different events. That is what has made poker runs so much fun and enjoyable. The camaraderie among participants and organizers is incredible.



It is easy to say that unity is important when there were 2 safety meetings that day and not one. I believe that there is something that comes first before unity. COMMITMENT I believe is the most important step to having safe events. This was also reiterated by several people in the room. It is easy to have a list of rules but organizers need to have the commitment to enforce them. If poker run organizers all over North America are committed to producing safe events, poker runs will be safer in the months and years to come.



Organizers don't need to subscribe to one groups of rules or the other. Organizers need to subscribe to common sense. Is the use of life jackets mandatory on a poker run common sense? Yes. Is the 100% banning of alcohol until the events are over common sense? Yes. There are a lot more common sense topics listed within the APRA safety guidelines.



The very unfortunate part is that there are a few poker run organizers in the minority that will not or do not want to establish strict safety guidelines for their events. Why? You would have to ask them. I am not going to speak on their behalf. What I will say and repeat is what I mentioned during the APRA meeting. I have had a few organizers in the past tell me that they would be concerned that no one would attend their events if such rules were in place. I have had a few people not attend or back out of NJ Performance Powerboat club events because of our strict rules. We still have sold out our events regularly and we have even seen some of those who walked away in the past return. We have always greeted them with open arms. For those few who have not returned because of not wanting to wear life jackets or conform to any of the other safety rules, I believe that we are better off without them at our events.



I thought that my time spent at the meeting and being part of the panel was extremely beneficial to NJPPC and I hope it was beneficial to everyone else who attended. I would like to thank APRA and Poker Runs America for inviting me to be on their panel.



If anyone would like to share their point of view with me regarding the meeting, please email me at [email protected] I would like to hear your perspective on the meeting.



Best regards,

Dave Patnaude

President

NJ Performance Powerboat Club