Federal marshals seized Oracle Team USA’s prototype boat in San Francisco in response to a lien filed by a sailor, Joe Spooner, whose contract was terminated in January. Marshals went to the team’s base at Pier 80 and determined that the 45-foot catamaran and related components were in three shipping containers the team was preparing to send to Bermuda.

The dispute will return to federal court, where Spooner is seeking at least $725,000 in a wrongful termination suit.

It is very important to know the water in which you will be boating in.

* If water temperatures are cold, do you have an extra set of dry clothes?

* Is the area known for floating debris or sandbars?

* Are your boating charts updated?

A big part of being safe is education:  Spring is a great time of year to review boating safety with your family, including rescue basics, signs of drowning, what to do in the event of an accident, and general boating protocol.

New Operators: Do you have a new driver in your home this year? Before you put new operators at the helm, make sure they are comfortable with the boat. Seriously consider enrolling them in a boating class.

Review your boat or boat insurance to ensure that you have enough coverage. For example:
* Does your policy provide agreed value coverage?

* Have you updated your policy to reflect any updates to the boat? For example, a new stereo system, electronics, or engine upgrade.

* If you will be trailering your boat do you have ample coverage while your boat is on the trailer?

Boat Preparation: either you or a trusted maintenance professional should complete the following:

• Fluids replaced as mandated by the owner’s manual
• Wipers checked and replaced if needed
• Complete boat inspection (including engine)
• Detailed cleaning – a great way to identify any concerns
• Electronics test
• Safety equipment – replace batteries and check condition

Did you know that, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, 89% of reported fatalities in 2011 happened on boats where the driver did not received boating safety training. You should make sure that anyone who drives your boat is properly trained to do so.

Also by completing a safety course with the Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power Squadrons, you may be able to save up to 15 percent on your boat policy.

One important safety tip when boating is to think ahead and be prepared. Here are some tips to check for each time.

1) Make sure your gas tanks are vented and bilges are free of vapors, oil, waste and grease.

2) Always carry a fire extinguisher and keep it charged.

3) Make sure to have your boat’s operating systems checked at least once a year by a certified marine technician.

4) Get a vessel safety check from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary or United States Power Squadrons.

5) Make sure to follow your Boat maintenance tips.

Some of the insurance discounts that may be available to you:

Be a Safe Boater:  You can save up to 15% when you complete a boating safety course. You can find a classes through the Coast Guard Auxiliary or U.S. Power Squadron.

You can save up to 5% when you complete a National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA)-approved state administered course. Some states require young boaters (usually age 16 or younger) to complete an approved safety course before operating a boat.

Diesel: You may be able to save up to 10% when your boat is powered by an inboard diesel engine.

Having More Than One Policy: Many insurance company provide Qualify a discount when you also carry an auto, motorcycle, home, condo, renters or RV policies.

Insuring your boat/pwc can costs much less than you may think. In fact, the average boat costs about a dollar a day to insure. Talk to your local agent about how to lower your boat insurance rate with many watercraft savings and discounts options.

The number of PWC accidents involving injury varies by State. California reported 385 PWC-related accidents during the 1996 boating season, resulting in 298 injured persons, 8 fatalities, and $508,000 in property damage. Although PWC accounted for 16 percent of the registered vessels and 14 percent of the fatalities in California, they were involved in 45 percent of all recreational boating accidents and 55 percent of the persons injured.

Collisions with another vessel made up the majority of recreational boating accidents (69 percent), and of these collisions, 71 percent involved one PWC colliding with a second.6 Similarly, Florida had 751,153 registered vessels in 1996, 9 percent of which were PWC, yet PWC accounted for 37 percent of the accidents (464 of 1,260), 48 percent of the persons injured (389 of 804), and 7 percent of the fatalities (4 of 59).7

In Minnesota, PWC accounted for 3 percent of the number of boats (23,844 of 758,666), yet they were involved in 29 percent of the accidents (41 of 139), 45 percent of the persons reported as injured (22 of 49), and 17 percent of the fatalities (2 of 12).8 The Safety Board could not determine whether PWC are over-represented when compared to other types of recreational boats or if usage type varies by type of boat because accurate data on usage and exposure time for different types of recreational boats are not available. (Exposure data are discussed further in chapter 2). PWC injury reports taken from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) of the Consumer Product Safety Commission and analyzed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) showed that over a 6-year period, the number of PWC in operation increased nearly three-fold (from 241,500 in 1990 to an estimated 760,000 in 1995), while the number of PWC-related injuries increased four-fold (2,860 in 1990 to an estimated 12,000 in 1995).9

According to the CDC analysis, the rate of PWC-related injuries (injuries per number of PWC) requiring emergency medical treatment was 8.5 times higher than the rate of injuries from motorboats. The Safety Board notes that many PWC accidents analyzed for this study involved injury but no reported property damage. The Board suspects that PWC-related injuries are not reported on boating accident forms but are being treated at local hospital emergency rooms (and are thereby entered in the NEISS data of the CDC).

Personal watercraft users find helpful water safety, discounts, pwc insurance tips, and industry news.  Jet ski insurance, personal watercraft Bodily Injury liability can pay for expenses related to injury to others in an accident you cause. Personal watercraft liability insurance provides coverage in case someone other than the named insured is injured while riding the personal watercraft or being towed.

You will need to make sure that you read each and every line in your policy to get the facts on excluded items.  Policy are different so carefully read and understand you coverages/benefits.  Here are a few typical examples of what is not generally covered:

* Any craft that has been modified to enhance speed and performance
* Operation of a PWC after dark—dusk to dawn
* Operating a PWC when you don’t have a valid driver’s license

Jet ski personal watercraft insurance quotes provide protection while you are driving, riding, or towing your personal watercraft PWC. Jet Ski, WaveRunner, Sea Doo are popular types of personal watercrafts – PWC. they all need watercraft insurance for liability, skiers liability, physical damage, and personal valuables.”