Save the Manatee Club's newly designed waterway card is waterproof and features tips to protect manatees, as well as information on regulatory signs and a number for reporting manatee injuries.

Boating in Florida? Have we got some stuff for you! One of Save the Manatee Club’s goals is to educate people about how to boat safely and share the waterways with manatees. To help achieve this goal, we have partnered with the company Navionics, and we are pleased to announce a drawing to give away five of their waterway charting products.

The Club offers a number of free public awareness materials to protect endangered manatees. One of these items is a Boating Safety Packet, which contains a weatherproof boat decal with a hotline number for reporting manatee injuries, deaths, or harassment. It also includes a newly designed waterproof waterway card that was created in conjunction with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. (Click here to see a pdf of the card). Laminated with a hole in the corner so it can be easily hung and kept on board your vessel, the waterway card features four simple tips to help protect manatees. Because manatees may be difficult to see, photos are provided that show what a manatee’s snout or back looks like when it breaks the surface of the water as well as a photo of a flat swirl on the water’s surface, called a “manatee footprint,” that is created when the manatee swims. The flip side of the card includes examples of regulatory signs posted for manatee protection, along with a description and a demonstration photo of a vessel operating at the speed for each zone. Information on the card is provided in English, French, Spanish, and German, so it is suited for Florida’s many visitors.

The products donated for the drawing by Navionics, a manufacturer of electronic navigation charts and systems for marine and outdoors use, include four mobile marine and lakes apps (for iPhone, iPad, Android phones & tablets, and PC/Mac) and one Fishin’Chip. The mobile app, which normally retails for around $10, allows you to download charts from any fresh or saltwater system in the United States. Once the charts are downloaded, they will remain fully functional on your device even without mobile coverage. In addition, the mobile apps provide tide, current, and wind data, route planning and tracking, marker location, and points of interest. The app also allows you to access “NewsStand” (which provides specialized articles based on your location -- including Save the Manatee Club's information on manatees), search for marinas, save favorite locations, share your routes and pictures on Facebook or email, and edit your charts to include local data such as obstructions, buoys, and signs. In addition, Save the Manatee Club will be giving away one Fishin’ Chip by Navionics. Valued at $199, Fishin’ Chip comes preloaded with a map of the entire United States that can be inserted in compatible chartplotters. The Fishin’ Chip provides 3D views, shaded depth contours, seagrass areas, manatee zones, fishing data, and more.

To qualify for the Navionics drawing, please send an email to boatingsafety@savethemanatee.org and request one of our free Boating Safety Packets. Hurry! The drawing closes August 20th.

Save the Manatee Club's waterproof boat decal is available in the free Boating Safety Packet. To request a packet, send an email to boatingsafety@savethemanatee.org.

Other items that Save the Manatee Club provides free of charge include waterproof banners for boaters and public awareness signs for Florida shoreline property owners. The bright yellow banners read “Please Slow: Manatees Below,” and can be used to warn other boaters if a manatee is spotted while out on a waterway. In addition, free aluminum dock signs with a similar message are available for Florida shoreline property owners. To get a free banner or waterway sign, please send an email to Save the Manatee Club at education@savethemanatee.org or call toll free 1-800-432-JOIN (5646). Send your mailing address and the area where you will be boating to get the free waterproof banner. To receive the free waterway sign, please send the address where the sign will be posted and the mailing address, if different.

Get More Info!

• Get more Manatee Protection Tips For Boaters.
  
  
• Please give generously so we can continue to produce and distribute Boating Safety Packets, signs, banners, and other education materials.
  
  
• See Manatee Protection Zone Maps and Get Free Boating & Angling Guides from the FWC.
  
  
• View the Waterproof Banners and Public Awareness Waterway Signs.
  
  

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