Your All-Important Float Plan
There are too many stories of police seeing an empty tow vehicle and trailer at a boat ramp after sunset and beginning the search for a missing or overdue boater. Sometimes it's the result of a worried family member calling to say the angler in their household hasn't come home yet, adding, "This has never happened before." It's not enough to say "See you later" when heading out for a day on the water. Bad weather, a misfiring engine, even a grounding can get in the way of the original plan. To keep your family, and the families of your passengers, informed, let everyone know the following:
- Names and cellphone numbers of all on board
- Intended destination, route, and stopovers and phone number(s)
- Description of the boat (make, model, color), name, and registration number
- When you plan to be back