Educating on safety is key
Jake Denton

Jake Denton
Posted on 04 May, 2023

Educating on safety is key

As part of the marine precinct, MAST (Marine & Safety Tasmania) is keeping festival-goers updated and informed on boats and boating while keeping them educated on safety.

Senior recreational boating project officer Ian Ross says MAST’s involvement is especially important to everyone attending this year. They encourage those interested in water-based activities to do their research before getting out on the water.

“With 40% of boat registrations and licenses in rural areas, Tasmania is the highest per capita boat-owning population in the country with 1 in 17 people having a registered boat and 1 in 8 people having a boat license. The chances of people having accessibility to the water are increasing.”

This year, Ian and MAST team are talking to the public about the effects of cold water, upholding values of safety, and providing new information on EVDS (Electronic Visual Distress Signals) and water buoyancy. He says it is good to get new an updated equipment but people need to know how to use it to stay safe in a dangerous situation.

“When you’re in the water you’re losing body heat 25x faster, knowing what to do might be the difference of coming out of that situation or not. It is critical to know what to do.”

With the partnering of the Deckee companion app, MAST has accumulated over 15,000 downloads in Tasmania. They provide information through the app with quick and easy links to rules and regulations, safety equipment checklists, weather warnings, and boating locations in Tasmania.

Marine & Safety Tasmania is located at M65 on Main Street.

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