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Tag: LifeLines

LifeLines – be safe at the beach, on the water, on the Island

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Uncategorized.

Have fun on Anna Maria Island, on its beach and in its waters!

Here are some tips to keep you safe – and within the law – while diving, snorkeling, boating, Jet Skiing, fishing, swimming and beachgoing.

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-boating-safety/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-diving-and-snorkeling/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-do-the-stingray-shuffle/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-stay-calm-in-a-rip-current/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-pack-your-beach-bag/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-fishing-tackle/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-crack-the-beach-flag-code/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-get-into-the-swim-zone/

https://amisun.com/2018/04/05/lifelines-fishing-facts/

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Boating safety

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

Please be safe while boating or riding personal watercraft!

Boating tips

  • Wear your life jacket.
  • Attach a Personal Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (PEPIRB) to your life jacket.
  • Take a boating safety course.
  • Get a vessel safety inspection.
  • Install a GPS system.
  • Install a VHS radio – cell phones only work so far offshore.
  • Keep flares on board.
  • In a crisis, stay with the boat.
  • Have enough rope to anchor in rough seas – seven feet for every foot of depth.
  • Tell someone where you’re going and when you’ll be back.
  • Obey speed limits in manatee zones.
  • Stay in designated channels to avoid causing propeller scars in seagrass beds.
  • Don’t drink and boat.

Personal watercraft tips:

  • Life jackets are required whether driving, riding on or being towed behind a personal watercraft.
  • Do not operate a personal watercraft from a half hour after sunset to a half hour before sunrise.
  • Operators must be at least 14 years old.
  • A person must be at least 18 years old to rent a personal watercraft.
  • Operators born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 are required to have completed a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators-approved boating education course and have a boating education ID card and photo ID to operate a vessel with a 10 horsepower motor or higher.

Related coverage

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

If you’re wading in the Gulf of Mexico, be on the lookout for the mild-mannered fish gliding in shallow water or partially buried in the sand. Do the “stingray shuffle” and shuffle your feet to avoid stepping on their barbed tails.

And if you see what looks like two small shark fins breaking the surface of the water a foot or so apart, don’t panic – they’re probably just the two wingtips of a stingray, the nicest part the shark family.

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Rip current

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

A rip current is a fast-moving, narrow channel of water that can move either along the shoreline or away from shore, taking swimmers with it.

If you get caught in a rip current, stay calm and don’t try to swim against it; swim across it instead, then swim to shore once you’re out of it.

If you can’t swim across it, ride it out by floating on your back, facing the shore, and when you reach the end of the current, swim to shore well clear of it. If you are too tired to swim, wave your arms and call for help.

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

Divers and snorkelers should use a divers-down flag or buoy to alert boaters to the presence of people under the water’s surface.

Vessels must stay at least 100 feet away from a divers-down flag or buoy in a river, inlet or channel. In open water, including the Gulf of Mexico, vessels must stay 300 feet away. Divers should stay within the same distances of their displayed flag or buoy.

The divers-down symbol is rectangular or square and red with a white diagonal stripe. A divers-down flag displayed on a boat must be at least 20 inches by 24 inches and displayed at a high point where it can be observed from 360 degrees around the vessel.

A divers-down flag or buoy, displayed from the water, must be at least 12 inches by 12 inches. A flag must have a wire or something else to hold it open. A a buoy can be three- or four-sided.

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

When you’re off to the beach, don’t forget:

  • Water
  • Broad spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher. Reapply every two hours and after swimming or sweating.
  • Sunglasses
  • Hat
  • Long-sleeved shirt
  • Umbrella for shade, especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • First aid kit

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

Don’t leave discarded monofilament fishing line and tackle in the water – it can snag, entangle and cut swimmers and divers – not to mention birds, sea turtles, dolphins, rays and manatees – leading to injury or death.

Recycle line and tackle at monofilament-recycling stations at many piers and boat ramps.

And if you hook a pelican or other wildlife while fishing, don’t cut the line. Gently reel it in and remove the hook if you feel confident that you can do it without harming yourself or the bird. If you don’t, call Wildlife Inc. Education and Rehabilitation at 941-778-6324.

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Beach flags

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

The flags fluttering on the lifeguard stands at Anna Maria Island’s two public beaches, Manatee Beach in Holmes Beach and Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach, are color coded to warn about different conditions that beachgoers should be aware of. Here’s how to read them:

  • Double red – no swimming allowed
  • Red – swim with extreme caution due to strong currents or rough surf
  • Yellow – swim with caution due to moderate currents or surf
  • Green – swimming allowed, calm conditions
  • Purple – presence of marine pests such as jellyfish, sharks, stingrays or red tide

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Swim zone

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

For the safest swimming on Anna Maria Island, swim at the county’s two public beaches, Manatee Beach and Coquina Beach, which are both lifeguarded.

At these two beaches, no-vessel zones are marked by buoys, which prohibit vessels from coming between the buoys and the shore at any speed, so swimmers have the water all to themselves.

Elsewhere on the Island, buoys designate either “slow speed/no wake” zones or “idle speed/no wake” zones between the buoys and the shore, so swimmers must share the water with vessels.

Law enforcement officers can issue tickets to vessel operators who ignore the buoys.

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Fishing facts

LifeLines: Fishing facts

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in LifeLines, Outdoors.

Fishing from the beach or wade fishing off the beach requires a saltwater shoreline fishing license for residents and non-residents.

You do not need the license if:

  • you have a resident recreational saltwater fishing license
  • you are fishing from a pier that has a blanket license
  • you are fishing in your home county with a pole or line not equipped with a line retrieval device
  • you are 65 or over and are a Florida resident
  • you are under 16 from any state
  • you are a Florida resident and a member of the U.S. Armed Forces not stationed in Florida and are here on leave for 30 days or less
  • you are eligible for food stamps, temporary cash assistance or Medicaid

Related coverage

LifeLines: Boating safety

LifeLines: Do the stingray shuffle

LifeLines: Stay calm in a rip current

LifeLines: Diving and snorkeling

LifeLines: Pack your beach bag

LifeLines: Fishing tackle

LifeLines: Crack the beach flag code

LifeLines: Get into the swim zone