Bushfires, pandemic linked to sharp rise in boating deaths

The report, a collaboration between Surf Life Saving Australia and the University of NSW, shows the number of coastal drownings attributed to boats and jet skis in 2019-20 jumped 87.5 per cent compared with the 15-year rolling average – the highest number since formal records started in 2004.

Up until the pandemic, the number of coastal drownings each year related to swimming have outnumbered the number of drownings related to boating. By comparison, the number of drownings related to swimming and wading fell relative to the 15-year average.

According to the report, titled When Natural Hazards Intersect with Public Health: A Preliminary Exploration of the Impact of Bushfires and the COVID-19 Pandemic on Australian Coastal Drowning Fatalities, 34 deaths were linked to boating and jet ski use during the study period.

The paper’s authors even point out that the research may have highlighted a link between inexperienced boaters and the steep rise in drownings.

“Anecdotally, this differing drowning profile has been attributed to the impact of two co-occurring public health and environmental concerns facing Australia during 2019-20 (bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic) which are thought to have substantially altered people’s behaviour,” the report suggests.

“For example, despite many jurisdictions having restrictions in place, boat sales were reported to have increased with many suppliers depleting their stock,” the report notes.

“Local maritime agencies (i.e. state and territory government agencies responsible for vehicle, vessel registrations, permits and licenses) reported substantial increases in boat sales and boat registrations in the year. 

“This may lead to more people with lower levels of experience heading out onto the water to avoid the smoke, fires, to socially distance or undertake recreational activities less limited by COVID-19 restrictions and legislations.”

According to the report, the big shift in drowning deaths attributed to boats and jet skis during the pandemic showed that Australians had changed how they used coastal areas, which may have placed them at greater risk.

Once again, the report’s authors plead the case for boaters to wear lifejackets – a vital and often underestimated safety device.

One of the study’s authors, Dr Amy Peden, told boatsales.com.au that perceptions that lifejackets were only for weak swimmers or inexperienced boaters still prevailed, compounding problems.

“Lifejackets these days are so slim-fitting that you can forget you’re wearing them,” Peden said.

“It would be good to have more use of lifejackets and enforcement of their use; they’re great to have but they’re not very well utilised – it would be great to have them used all the time on a boat.

“But all that aside, enforcing people to use lifejackets is a bit useless without the education,” Peden said.

The report concludes that more needs to be done to ensure boaters heading offshore are better prepared for when things don’t go to plan, including carrying safety equipment and “making sure you clearly communicate intended locations and return time with others”.