Boaters have blown away another world record for inflatable lifejacket wear.  On May 21st, 2011 the Canadian Safe Boating Council (CSBC), in partnership with the National Safe Boating Council (NSBC) set an unprecedented “Inflatable Lifejacket World Record” with SmartBoater.ca`s “Ready, Set, Inflate!” event.  Through a coordinated effort across North America, England, Brazil, Japan and Australia an estimated 1,685 participants gathered at more than 99 events held around the world and inflated their lifejackets or wore their inherently buoyant lifejackets to break last year’s record.  This second annual event ushered in North American Safe Boating Awareness Week which ran May 21 – 27, 2011.

The previous world record was set during last year’s “Ready, Set, Inflate!” event, which tallied 1,154 participants.

“Our partner, the National Safe Boating Council, along with our corporate sponsors, boating safety educators and organizations truly made this an event for the history books,” said Bob Minielly, Chair of the Canadian Safe Boating Council.  “The goal of SmartBoater.ca`s “Ready, Set, Inflate!” event is to help educate boaters about inflatable lifejackets, and with the tremendous response we saw this year, is an event that we plan to continue as a regular contribution to the North American Safe Boating Awareness Campaign.”

The CSBC and NSBC partnered with local sponsors and partners including CSBC`s educational website www.SmartBoater.ca, Canada’s resource for boating safety information, Cabela’s® as the national sponsor in the U.S.A., offering its stores across America as event locations and Leland, Ltd. and iSi Components who offered more than 1,000 CO2 cartridges to allow participants the opportunity to inflate their lifejacket, and practice re-arming techniques of inflatable lifejackets.

“The ultimate goal of this event is not to set a world record. We’re just hoping to get boaters from around the country – and the world – to get excited and involved in a fun and educational way to spread the word about lifejacket safety,” said Virgil Chambers, Executive Director of the NSBC. 

For more information about each regional event and to view pictures, videos and educational materials about lifejacket safety visit www.smartboater.ca

The North American Safe Boating Awareness Campaign focuses on the goal of educating the public about safe boating and lifejacket safety all year round, and relies on events like the “Inflatable Lifejacket World Record” and National Safe Boating Week to bring more awareness to this life-saving cause. For more information, please visit www.smartboater.ca , or www.SafeBoatingCampaign.com.