MONROE COUNTY, Pa. — Zero crowds and a sunny blue sky that's what Jordan Apgar from Blairstown, New Jersey, calls perfect conditions for his fishing trip on The Delaware River.
As he checks to see if he has all the gear needed to fish. He also makes a point to know where all of his safety equipment is, especially when he's by himself.
"We have lifejackets like the self-inflatable ones that you can wear it all day, which is nice. Fire extinguisher. I do have one of those safety whistle things, and we have a throwable that you can throw off the boat," said Apgar.
Kathleen Sandt with the Delaware Water National Recreation Area hopes more people are like Apgar.
She says the holiday weekend draws in thousands of visitors who will spend most of their time either in or on the water, and those people need to be taking safety precautions seriously.
"Wearing that life jacket right it's the best thing that anybody can do whether you're going to get out on the river in a boat or if you want to get in the river and take a swim. I know people don't think of wearing a life jacket when you swim, right? That's when you tend to take the life jacket off, but here in the Delaware River, we have found that the majority of our drownings actually occurred when people were swimming," said Sandt.
Park officials are urging people to use caution this year when getting out into the water; that's because there not going to be enough lifeguards to staff all of the beaches.
Signs have even been put up alerting visitors.
"Unfortunately, we weren't able to get enough lifeguards to staff one of our beaches this year. However, we do have a life jacket loaner station at each of those three beaches. So there are life jackets that somebody here at the beach can go up and pick off the stand. They come in a variety of different sizes from children's sizes to adults," said Sandt.
If you plan to be in or on the water this holiday weekend, Sandt hopes you're doing so safely.
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