Memorial Day weekend marks the launch of summer boating season, and we are blessed with an abundance of outdoor recreation opportunities on Tennessee's beautiful rivers and lakes. But each year we read about too many deaths and serious injuries on our waterways.

Here are some TWRA statistics (PDF format) from the 2006 boating season:

• The number of boating fatalities for 2006 was 16. This was an increase from 2005 which reported 10.

• The type of accident that resulted in the most fatalities was falls overboard with 3.

• The type of vessel that was most common in fatal accidents was the open motorboat with 11 vessels.

• The number of serious injury accidents in 2006 was 107 resulting in 129 injuries.

• The type of accident that resulted in the most injuries was Skier Mishap or Fall with 27 accidents.

• The body of water that produced the most injury accidents was the Ocoee River with 19 accidents. These resulted from whitewater sports activities.

• The number of Personal Water Craft accidents in 2006 was 46. This was no change from 2005 which reported 46. The number of injuries for PWC accidents was 38.

• The type of PWC accident that was most common was collision with another vessel with 25 accidents.

• The leading contributing factor for PWC accidents was operator inattention with 7 accidents. This was followed closely by careless/reckless with 6 accidents.

• The total number of registered vessels in 2006 was 271,687. That was an increase of over 4,000 from 2005.

• The total number of reported accidents in 2006 was 222. That was a increase from 2005 which had 169.

• The most common type of boat involved in an accident was an open motorboat.

• The leading type of accident was collision with another vessel.

• The most common operation during an accident was cruising.

• The leading contributing factor of accidents was careless or reckless behavior followed closely by operator inattention.

• Alcohol and/or drug use was a contributing factor in 6.3% of accidents. This was an increase from 2005 which was 5.3% of accidents.

And that's not counting other accidental drownings. Don't be a statistic. If you are going into open water for any reason, you really should be wearing a personal flotation device. Even if you're an Olympic-class swimmer, there are too many things that can go wrong. The same applies if you're in an inherently unstable craft such as a canoe or a kayak.

As a kid, the best thing I learned from Red Cross water safety/life saving classes was the "reach, throw, row, go" protocol for potential drowning rescue situations.

First try to reach the victim from the safety of land or the boat, by hand, with a paddle or oar, a fishing rod, a stick, a rope, a towel, anything. If that's not possible, find something to throw to the victim such as a life vest, seat cushion, boat fender, plastic jug, cooler, or anything that floats. If that's not possible, try to reach the victim by boat, canoe, inner tube, or whatever other floating vessel might be about (but do not approach the victim under power). Entering the water to attempt a swimming rescue is always the last resort. All too frequently the result is two victims, even if the rescuer is trained and in good physical condition.

As the summer boating season approaches, boating safety cannot be stressed enough. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is primarily responsible for safety and enforcement on Tennessee waterways. They have safe boating courses and now require anyone born after Jan. 1, 1989 to pass a boating safety exam and carry a certification card. There is more information here, including a free online boating safety course.

Here are some other useful Tennessee boating and water safety links: