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ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The nation’s waterways may be less crowded over the Fourth of July holiday period because waterway traffic from Friday, June 30 to Tuesday, July 4th is expected to be more spread out and not concentrated on one or two days, the towing arm of BoatU.S. said recently.
However, this still means that about 4,000 recreational boaters are expected to call the association’s 24-hour TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist dispatch centers to request on-the-water assistance during this five-day holiday period.
Requests for on-the-water assistance to dispatch centers in Virginia and California have traditionally been a reliable indicator of recreational boating volume on the nation’s waterways.
“With waterfront town fireworks displays on different dates and the varied vacation schedules of boaters, there will probably be less congestion on the Fourth,” Jerry Cardarelli, vice president of BoatU.S. Towing Services said. “But it’s still going to be pretty busy out there navigating your way home in the dark and we caution all boaters not to let their guard down.”
Cardarelli said that while fuel prices may have had an impact on weekday and offshore boating patterns, this won’t be a factor on July Fourth.
“If it is anything like Memorial Day – which was the second busiest period for recreational boating traffic – boaters won’t be too worried about gas prices.”
There were over 3,000 calls for TowBoatU.S. and Vessel Assist over the three-day Memorial Day holiday period.
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