First Day of Spring will be here soon – Are you ready with boat?

The vernal equinox signals the beginning of nature’s renewal. Birds begin migrating northward. Worms emerge from the earth. We put winter clothes away, and turn off the furnace. At approximately (and I mean approximately) the same time each year most Americans will “spring forward” for Daylight Savings Time, DST.

We shift our watches and clocks one hour earlier, all except parts of Arizona and Hawaii who do not observe Daylight Savings Time.

A little trivia: As of 2007, daylight savings time begins in the United States on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November. On the second Sunday in March, clocks are set ahead one hour at 2:00 a.m. local standard time (which becomes 3:00 a.m. local daylight time). On the first Sunday in November, clocks are set back one hour at 2:00 a.m. local daylight time (which becomes 1:00 a.m. local standard time). These dates were established by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Pub. L. no. 109-58, 119 Stat 594 (2005).

Year Begin End
2006 April 2 October 29
2007 March 11 November 4
2008 March 9 November 2
2009 March 8 November 1
2010 March 14 November 7
2011 March 13 November 6
2012 March 11 November 4
2013 March 10 November 3
2014 March 9 November 2
2015 March 8 November 1
2016 March 13 November 6
2017 March 12 November 5

Confused yet? If you arrive at work and no one is there, you missed the change. YouTube has some very funny videos about the confusion.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=daylight+savings+time+confusion

But what does Spring and/or Daylight Savings Time mean for boaters?

TIME TO HIT THE WATER!

If you don’t use the boat that much or not at all during the winter this means it is time to get your boat ready. A site that has an excellent checklist for this is: stateparks.utah.gov/2016/04/07/top-10-tips-getting-your-boat-ready-for-summer.

Why the MBU Puffer picture?  Because he’s my favorite fish!