Special events will promote boating safety

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News Release

The public is invited to an open house and boating safety day at Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon Inlet on Tuesday, May 25, from 8:30 a.m. until 2 p.m.  The day is in conjunction with National Safe Boating Week, and the "Life Jackets for Life" tour, a joint campaign of the FWC, the U.S. Coast Guard and local public safety agencies to promote the use of life jackets. Coast Guard Station Ponce de Leon Inlet is located at 2999 N. Peninsula Ave., New Smyrna Beach.

Included in the open house will be the "Wear It Florida" Sea-Doo Challenger 180 boat; inflatable life jacket demonstrations; a Coast Guard HH65 Dolphin helicopter, including a search-and-rescue demonstration from the water; boating safety checks from the USCG Auxiliary and the FWC; tours of USCG vessels; and boating safety information galore. Those attending the open house can register to win free inflatable life jackets. A local vendor will be selling hot dogs and soft drinks.

At 10 a.m. there will be a boat parade from Ponce Inlet to the Coast Guard Station, consisting of the Wear It Florida boat; patrol vessels from the FWC, Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary and Volusia County Sheriff's Office; and Port Orange, South Daytona, Ponce Inlet and Edgewater police departments.

The Life Jackets for Life tour will kick off Sunday, May 23 in the Intracoastal Waterway in Jacksonville, where the Wear It Florida boat will get under way for a week-long journey to Miami.

In addition to stopping at the Coast Guard Station at Ponce de Leon Inlet, the life jacket promotional boat will stop for another local educational opportunity and boat parade at 10 a.m., at the Titusville Marina on Wednesday, May 26. It will then continue its journey to West Palm Beach, Pompano Beach and Miami. The news media and the public are invited to all events.