Boating Safety

Boating Safety in Focus as Holiday Marks Height of Summer Season

July 6, 2023 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The July 4 holiday ushers in the height of summer boating season and is a great time to review boating safety.

The boating season got off to a bad start in May after seven people were rescued in the waters between Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel Island, according to FOX4 News.

Passengers called 911 after a collision between a 50-ft sailboat and a 30-foot fishing vessel. The sailboat was anchored outside the channel and was struck by the fishing vessel, according to authorities. That crash occurred just several weeks after a boat struck the base of the Cape Coral bridge and sank.

Fort Myers Boat Show – Staying Safe on the Water

November 14, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

The Fort Myers Boat Show kicks off this weekend in downtown Fort Myers amid unprecedented interest and demand for all things boating as Southwest Floridian’s continue to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

Thousands of guests were expected and plenty of masked and unmasked faces were present as preparations this week were delayed by the meandering and prolonged path of Hurricane ETA, which finally made landfall as a tropical storm near Tampa, after wandering past Miami and spending several days off the coasts of Naples and Fort Myers Beach.

Boating Popularity Continues to Soar in SWFL

June 22, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Southwest Florida boat dealers and marinas are reporting significant increases in boat sales and rentals as families look for COVID-friendly alternatives for vacation and leisure.

In April, our Fort Myers boat accident attorneys reported in Boating Injuries a Pandemic Risk that an increase in boaters – particularly an increase in novice boaters – would likely lead to an increased risk of reportable accidents during Southwest Florida’s summer boating season, which is typically the slowest time of the year.

Florida is a boater’s paradise. The state’s 1 million vessels puts more boats off Florida’s coast than anywhere else in the nation, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission. But with all that fun in the sun comes an assumption of risk, and potential liabilities.

Southwest Florida Boating Injuries a Pandemic Risk

April 19, 2020 | Associates and Bruce L. Scheiner

Well, you can still get out on the water.

But boaters off the coast of Southwest Florida are not guaranteed the peace and tranquilly paradoxically offered by local malls during the coronavirus pandemic.

COVID-19 has turned life upside down in Southwest Florida. In mid-March, we were preparing for spring training and spring break, in mid-April we are “safer at home.”