Why you can feel safe on MarineLab boats
Lead Captain Walker Gareri
MarineLab has a fleet of US Coast Guard (USCG) Inspected Passenger Vessels, a certification with several safety requirements. First, being a USCG Inspected Passenger Vessel means that the USCG inspects our vessels once a year to make sure that we’re up to date on our safety equipment. Every two years, we have to pull our boats out of the water to have the USCG inspect the hulls of the vessels. Monthly safety drills are required and logged. And lastly, our vessels are operated by people holding US Coast Guard Master’s licenses, which require over 720 days of on-water time.
Locations of all the safety equipment on board our vessels. Not shown: our super safe captain and mate!
Of course, this doesn’t mean that we check our safety equipment only once a year! Every time a boat leaves our dock the Captain and mate complete daily safety checks to make sure that the boat is in working order and that the safety equipment is in place. Also, the crew regularly checks our gear for wear and tear while giving our boats a spa day! The safety gear we have on our vessels includes first aid, life jackets, a toss ring with a strobe light, a life raft, flares, fire extinguishers, fuel shutoff valves, bilge pumps, high water alarms, and GPS integrated VHF-Radio. We also have an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) that would send a signal to the Coast Guard in case of emergency.
While our safety gear is critical, the number one reason you can feel safe on MarineLab boats is our crew. Captains and mates (who are also our marine science instructors) go through rigorous training with monthly man overboard training, fire drills, and abandon ship drills. All of our captains have years of experience, local knowledge, and tons of great jokes! Before your first boat trip, our instructors/mates will walk you through the important gear on each boat, show how to wear your life jacket in case of emergency, and talk about boating safety. Plus all our crew have been through extensive training on working with passengers from fifth grade through adults; we emphasize safety, respect, and FUN.
When a life raft reaches its expiration date, MarineLab staff take the opportunity to run a drill with it so we know exactly what to do in the unlikely event of needing to use it! Plus it’s fun, if you can’t tell from these faces!
And in addition to being SUPER safe, our vessels are all power catamarans, which makes them extremely stable and versatile. Their stability and shallow draft allow us to explore many different ecosystems, from the seagrass shoals of Florida Bay all the way out to the deep blue.
We know that our crew can make you feel safe no matter what, even if it’s your first time on a boat or your hundredth time!