May 14, 2025 by Carol Britton Meyer
In a show of support for the North American Safe Boating campaign, the select board this week proclaimed May 17-23 National Safe Boating Week in Hingham and the “start of a year-round effort to promote safe boating.”
As part of this campaign, the board urges all boaters to “always wear a life jacket, take a boating course, schedule a vessel safety check, and to learn and practice safe boating habits.”
Select board members Chair William Ramsey, Liz Klein, and Julie Strehle took turns reading the proclamation, which noted that 700 people die each year in boating-related accidents in the United States, of which about 70 percent are fatalities caused by drowning.
“A significant number of boaters who lose their lives by drowning each year would be alive today had they worn their life jackets,” the proclamation states. “Today’s life jackets are more comfortable, more attractive, and more wearable than styles of years past and deserve a fresh look by today’s boating public.”
Harbormaster Ken Corson, who was present prior to and during the reading of the proclamation, noted that its purpose was “to bring awareness to boating in Massachusetts and around the country to help ensure people on the water are safe and wearing life jackets.”
Ramsey attributed the high level of water safety “in and around the harbor” to the work of Corson and his staff.
The select board then appointed Breece Achille to the position of assistant harbormaster at an entry level at Corson’s request to serve in that role before he heads to college in the fall. “This is the third member of the Achille family working in a law enforcement role in Hingham,” Ramsey noted.
And the sand that has built up at the boat ramp is planned to be removed just before Memorial Day weekend to help with safer boat launches