May 13, 2026 By Carol Britton Meyer
The select board issued a proclamation this week in support of the goals of the North American Safe Boating campaign and National Safe Boating Week May 16-22 as the start of a year-round effort to promote safe boating.
Noting that on average,700 people die each year in boating-related accidents in the United States and that approximately 70% of these fatalities are caused by drowning; “that the vast majority of these accidents are caused by human error or poor decisions and not by the boat or environmental factors; and that a significant number of boaters who lose their lives by drowning each year would be alive today had they worn their life jackets” the board urges all boaters in Hingham and beyond to always wear a life jacket, take a boating safety course, schedule a vessel safety check, and to learn and practice safe boating habits.