If you’re planning on going on a boat trip sometime this season, here are five tips to keep you and your friends safe in honour of Boating Safety Awareness Week.

Chris Love, water smart and safety management coordinator for Lifesaving Society Manitoba offered 5 key tips to keep safe out in the water.

1. Wear your life jacket

It’s very important that you wear your life jacket while on your boat; “it can’t save your life if you’re not wearing it,” Love says.

95% of boating fatalities in Manitoba are a result of someone not wearing a life jacket. “It’s a very simple thing that could save your life.”

2. Boat sober

Do not go on a boat while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. It doesn’t matter if its legal, illegal, prescription drugs, or alcohol. The effects of those while be amplified by the effects of, wind, weather, waves, and the rocking motion of the boat. 64% of boating fatalities in Manitoba are a result of intoxication.

3. Take a boating course

In order to drive a motorized vehicle in Canada you must have the Pleasure Craft Operator Card, which you can get through a test conducted by Transport Canada. They advise everyone to take a boating course so you can get that card to start out with, even if you have that card it is advised you take further training to keep people safe.

4. Be prepared, you and your boat

Make sure you have everything on your boat, and you have brought everything to be safe: life jackets, weather appropriate clothing, all of the legally required safety supplies.

If you are crossing international boundaries, have everything required for the country you are crossing to. Rember, it’s never a bad thing to pack backups, especially when it comes to safety supplies, such as a first aid kit.

5. Be aware of the dangers of cold water

If you are in water that is below 25 degrees Celsius, don’t stay in the water for more than 15 to 25 minutes (depending on the water temperature) because you may risk hypothermia or lose your ability to swim or move in the water. Dress appropriately for the weather and wear your life jacket, If you can’t swim, you can always float in the water and wait for help.

Never go boating alone; if you fall in, it’s important someone is around to help you, especially before you lose muscle coordination, Love says.