Northwest Marine Trade Association launches safe boating website
The Northwest Marine Trade Association (NMTA) has launched a new website — Open For Boating — to help Northwest boaters find the latest information about boating and fishing during COVID-19 restrictions. Governor Inslee announced a partial reopening of outdoor recreation on May 5, 2020, but there are many restrictions and guidelines boaters need to be aware of. Open For Boating is aimed at providing boaters with a single location to quickly and easily find up-to-dateinformation on enjoying boating in this new environment.
“Boating and fishing are positive and healthy outlets and a welcome relief during these stressful times,” said George Harris, president, NMTA. “Northwest boaters are thrilled to be able to put their vessels and rods back in the water and want to do so safely and responsibly. The Open for Boating website will help them do that by keeping them abreast of the status of marinas, marine parks, the Canadian borders and more, all in one place.”
The website includes information about:
- Washington State Parks openings;
- Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) parks openings;
- Washington State Department Fish and Wildlife seasons, closures and restrictions;
- Guidelines for safe boating and fishing during COVID-19
- COVID-19 and boat shopping;
- Social distancing guidelines for boating safely during COVID-19;
- FAQs.
Boaters can also email through the site and get answers to questions that aren’t easy to find or aren’t listed on other website resources.
Additionally, NMTA is hosting Seattle Boat Show LIVE, a series of free online bi-weekly events with local experts that will run through September 1. The first one, with Mark Bunzel and Leonard and Lorena Landon, the editors of the Waggoner Cruising Guide, took place on May 8 and was attended by more than 500 boating enthusiasts. A recording can be found at https://www.openforboating.com/sbslive as well as a schedule of upcoming events and registration.
