| NSW Maritime Campaign Launch - Keep Your Eye On The Ball |
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| Thursday, 02 April 2009 14:01 | |||
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NSW Maritime has launched a $200,000 boating safety campaign featuring former Australian cricket opener Matthew Hayden. The campaign called ‘Keep Your Eye on the Ball’ is set to run until the end of the boating season this Easter. Matthew Hayden is a keen boater who understands the importance of safety and skippers being responsible at all times for the lives of all on board. The safety awareness campaign stresses one of the fundamental boating messages of keeping a good lookout at all times. Hayden donated his time to the campaign which is an extension of a National Marine Safety Committee project to improve boating safety. "Just as ‘keeping your eye on the ball’ is important in cricket, keeping a good lookout on the water is vital for safe boating," he said. "There are so many things that can change every time you go out such as a slight adjustment in a sand bar. "You need to read navigation beacons correctly and be aware of other boats in half light or where you can’t see because you are blinded by sun or salt on the window. "Things can change in an instant, another boat can come out of nowhere, a wave can swamp you and suddenly you can be in real trouble." NSW Maritime figures indicate 42 per cent of boating incidents over the past three years involved grounding and collisions, highlighting the need for skippers to keep a proper look out. Skippers need to follow a few important rules:
For more go to http://www.safeboating.org.au/
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