There are a lot of boats in Kentucky, and it is certainly not easy to keep track of them or to know how proficient their operators are generally, as a group.

The same is true nationwide, where, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, there are approximately 12.5 million registered boats.

That high number virtually ensures that boating accidents are routinely occurring on the nation's waterways, in every state, and Coast Guard statistics readily bear this out.

According to the Coast Guard Auxiliary, there were approximately 4,600 boat crashes and other mishaps on the water in 2010, which resulted in more than 670 fatalities, about 3,150 other injuries and more than $35 million in property damage.

An agreement executed last week between the Coast Guard and the U.S. Power Squadrons ("USPS") seeks to be aggressively proactive in doing something to lower all those numbers. The Coast Guard and USPS will work together to increase cooperative efforts in conducting boat examinations, providing boating education to the public and engaging in boater safety awareness events throughout the year.

The United States Power Squadrons were organized in 1914 as a nonprofit organization aimed at making boating safer through a focus on teaching seamanship, navigation and other boating-related subjects. USPS has about 40,000 members in states across the country, with 400 squadrons actively involved in community service and educational efforts. USPS is the country's largest nonprofit boating organization.

Kentucky has several USPS branches, including the Louisville Sail & Power Squadron, which offers boating courses, conducts vessel examinations and engages in a number of other community-related water activities.

Related Resource: Trade Only Today, "Groups reach agreement on boating safety efforts" Aug. 29, 2011