The truth of progression lies in our choices regarding education. The educational abilities are going to become our actions.

Our behaviors as professionals are storied in the prevention of accidents, drowning or deaths. Its a huge responsibility and requires serious dynamics of time and focus.

How do we determine fake news and fake programs? They should be vested in a credible resource that has vetted the program and pitted it against USCG boating rules to start with.

Does the program have meaning?

Does the program represent the equipment manufacturer recommendations and inspections?

As a subject matter expert who created the RWC and night qualification programming I have seen very few programs that thrive. Most of them are moving towards something unreliable. This is not optional.

Their program goals are misaligned. That means they don't have their fundamentals clearly aligned with seamanship skills.

We see this often in digital media presentations.

What can you do regarding fake Maritime news and unsafe practices?

1. Take Responsibility and be Skeptical: Safety is a behavior, it is not a ‘click’ or a retweet or a repost!

2. Who is the Poster? Do they have 10 or 20 years of expertise on the subject? Do you see a red flag?

MEDIA OUTLETS DO NOT REPRESENT OUR COMMUNITY

When you read an online article, use discernment and realize most of the content may be patched or haphazard. Many use stock images that do not relate to the incident or craft design. Their terminology may be wrong. If you give an interview ask them to allow you to proof it first for release, or decline the invitation:

Research the Presented Content: Discover the factual evidence. Use google to put in key words, then see how many similar stories are discovered and do they align and are they reputable sources? Who is the original source? Search google images, videos and text. Is the content original or pirated? This undermines our professionalism with false data.

What Does the Evidence State? When you stop at a meme, photo or mishap video, open up tabs on the browsers and start reading and reviewing the presented content. Is it professional? Research and determine if the source is credible and its presenting a 100% solution to their viewership. Otherwise you are the problem in partnership with their unreliable marketing goals.

We have to be able to negotiate our boating safety practices and protect our seamanship skills.

They have to make sense. This means you must be a boater first and a rescuer second, its not the other way around!

There are no shortcuts for water rescue teams, when you incorporate a Rescue Water Craft, you now have a marine unit. The rules change and you cannot dumb them down, in fact you need to ramp up your game! These are not toys, they are serious power craft.

Accidents should not represent our maritime community, competency should! No person who creates a mishap should be called a hero, nor lauded as competent, instead urge them to understand the risk better and to resist dumbing down the reality.

Lifesaving depends upon professional behaviors and actions, anything else is deadly, dangerous, negligent, or bearing on gross negligence.

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Posted: April 28, 2019

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Content Creator: Shawn Alladio cares most about her community and the culture surrounding the safety of event service providers and Rescue Water Craft operators, working hard and dedicated towards protecting their reputation, distributing safety information and continuing to train these amazing individuals to the highest standards of care.

Use at your own risk. Please take a qualified Rescue Water Craft training course and maintain proper records and respect all the PWC, RWC, PPE, and gear OEM manufacturer warning labels and cautions.