Most boating dangers announce themselves. A pop-up storm. A big wake. Another boat coming too fast can sound alarms.

One killer does not.

"One risk that people really don't think about is open-air carbon monoxide poisoning," said Peg Phillips, director of the National Safe Boating Council. "And unfortunately, there are fatalities each year from carbon monoxide poisoning on a boat."

Phillips works with the parents of children who have gone to sleep on the back of the family boat and never gotten up.

"They had spent the day out on the boat. Had a great day," she said. "And just decided to lie down and take a nap and breathed in the carbon monoxide."

Carbon monoxide pools at the back of the boat. It gets worse whenever the vessel slows down, like in a long no-wake or manatee zone. And it gives no warning.

"One thing to remember is that carbon monoxide is odorless. You're not going to smell that," Phillips said. "If you have small children, put them towards the front of the boat."

Memorial Day Weekend kicks off National Safe Boating Week, an annual reminder to people nationwide that many boating crashes and deaths are preventable. Wear a life jacket at all times. Stay sober. Give the captain a dedicated second pair of eyes, or a person watching out for hazards in all directions.

Those are the things mentioned year after year, common sense precautions that can keep nearly any day boating safe.

This week is also when the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission issues its yearly boating accident numbers.

The agency said Florida boaters logged 439 injuries last year, a five-year high, even as personal watercraft accidents stayed near the bottom of their recent range at 161.

The pattern in who got hurt was familiar. Most injured people were not wearing a flotation device, and 40 percent were thrown from their boats.

Lacerations, contusions, and broken bones accounted for most of the wounds, and the most common cause was simply one boat hitting another.

On personal watercraft, inexperience drove the numbers. Nearly two of every five operators in crashes had logged fewer than 10 hours on the water and a big contributor was failure to have a second set of eyes watching for hazards other than the vessel’s operator.

Crashes also peaked in July and cluster through the warm months, a reminder that summer is when the water gets most crowded and least forgiving.

The more familiar danger still kills most people. Boaters are far more likely to die or be injured because they were not wearing a life jacket.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission found 87 percent of drowning victims were not wearing one. Most boating fatalities are drownings.

"The most important boating safety tip is to wear a life jacket," Phillips said. "That is the easiest way to keep the boat operator and all your passengers safe. So just go ahead and wear it."

Boating in Florida is not only a way to relieve stress, strengthen family bonds, and have fun. It is also big business.

The National Marine Manufacturers Association says recreational boating in Florida generates an economic impact of more than $31 billion a year. That includes about $5.4 billion in annual sales of boats, engines, and accessories. More than 100,000 jobs across the state are tied to the industry.

Florida leads the nation with about 1.2 million documented vessels, roughly 10 percent of all the boats, dinghies, personal watercraft, canoes, and paddleboards known of in the country.

Even paddleboards count. Anyone on the surfboard-looking craft, the kind a person stands on and moves with an oar, must carry a life jacket and, after dark, a white light visible from all directions.

The wildlife commission compiles its boating accident report and issues it about 18 months after the end of the year it covers. The 2024 numbers are in the 2025 report, which came out in May 2026.

Environmental reporting for WGCU is funded in part by VoLo Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to accelerate change and global impact by supporting science-based climate solutions, enhancing education, and improving health.

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