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BoatUS Foundation

Boaters dedicated to Safe, Smart & Clean boating.

16/10/2026

A reminder worth repeating as boating season continues: BoatUS Foundation's Director of Boat Safety, Ted Sensenbrenner, points to three fundamentals: preparation, proper lookout and patience. These are the foundation of a safe day on the water. That includes following the fuel rule of thirds, making sure every passenger has a properly fitted life jacket, keeping a second set of eyes on lookout, and sharing a float plan with someone on land before departure.

The stakes are real: U.S. Coast Guard data shows drowning caused 76% of boating fatalities in 2024, and 87% of those victims weren't wearing a life jacket. Preparation isn't optional — it's the difference-maker.

13/10/2026

Who's in the room at Turning The Tide? Anyone working to solve the abandoned and derelict vessel problem from a different angle.

That includes teams running ADV removal and vessel turn-in programs, recyclers and waste-stream innovators tackling fiberglass and materials disposal, agency staff and policymakers shaping how states handle marine debris, and marine industry leaders managing the on-the-water reality of it all.

The problem doesn't have one owner, and the solutions won't either. That's the premise behind this summit. Join us Dec. 6–9 in New Orleans. Registration is open now — link in bio.

09/10/2026

TWO MONTHS LEFT:: Turning The Tide Summit returns to New Orleans, Dec. 6–9, 2026.

Hosted by the BoatUS Foundation with support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, the summit convenes environmental experts, agency staff, policymakers and industry leaders working on abandoned and derelict vessel (ADV) removal, sustainable disposal and boating-related waste streams — including fiberglass and composite recycling.

If ADV policy, removal logistics or marine debris solutions touch your work, this is where that community gathers. Registration is open now: https://web.cvent.com/event/03e66721-d11a-4ccf-8419-548981d17c30/summary

30/09/2026

Big challenges call for bold, cross-sector conversation. Few challenges illustrate that better than abandoned and derelict vessels.
When a boat is abandoned, the consequences don't end at the waterline. Left unaddressed, these vessels degrade water quality, obstruct navigation, and threaten the long-term health of the marine ecosystems and coastal communities around them, sometimes for decades.
That's the problem Turning The Tide Summit was built to solve. It's the premier gathering for professionals across recycling, research, program management and policy to compare notes on what's working, surface practical solutions, and build the partnerships needed to address ADVs at scale. This is important for both preventing new cases and responding to existing ones.
Turning The Tide Summit 2026 takes place Dec. 6 - 9 in New Orleans. Registration is open now. https://web.cvent.com/event/03e66721-d11a-4ccf-8419-548981d17c30/summar

28/09/2026

Early bird pricing for the Turning the Tide Summit ends October 1. Save when you register this week. New Orleans, December 6-9.

25/09/2026

Registration is open for the BoatUS Foundation's Turning the Tide Summit, December 6-9 in New Orleans, a gathering built for the marine industry to tackle derelict vessel removal and composites recycling head-on.

For an industry that builds and sells boats, what happens at the end of a vessel's life is increasingly a shared responsibility. The summit will dig into existing and emerging technologies for responsible, sustainable disposal of abandoned and derelict vessels, plus dedicated sessions on fiberglass and composite recycling, shrinkwrap, and other boating-related waste streams, the byproducts every corner of the industry eventually has to reckon with.

"No waterway community is exempt or safe from ADVs and boating-related waste," said Alanna Keating, the foundation's director of outreach, in a statement. "We all have the power to protect our waterways, and this summit is one significant way people can learn from each other, network and share solutions for taking real action that can benefit their communities for years to come."

Attendees get access to panel discussions, keynote addresses and resources built around practical disposal solutions, the kind of cross-sector problem-solving this issue needs.

Registration is $400 general admission, $200 for nonprofit/government employees and $100 for students. Prices will increase on 10/1, so get your discounted entrance fee now!

For manufacturers, dealers, and anyone in the marine trade thinking about circularity, this is a room to be in.

23/09/2026

There's no shortage of abandoned boats in America's waterways... but there are people actively working to fix this. Turning the Tide 2026 brings will bring everyone together in New Orleans, Dec. 6-9, for four days of real solutions, real partnerships, and real progress on ADVs. If this work matters to you, this is where you need to be. Find registration info here: https://web.cvent.com/event/03e66721-d11a-4ccf-8419-548981d17c30/summary

20/09/2026

You saw it online. Now see it in person.

The BoatUS Foundation, with support from the NOAA Marine Debris Program, is bringing Turning the Tide back — in person, in New Orleans, this December. Environmental experts, boating enthusiasts, agency staff, policymakers, and industry leaders are gathering to exchange ideas, share resources, and move real solutions to abandoned and derelict vessels forward.

Bring back that energy. Bring a colleague. Bring the idea you've been sitting on since last time. Register today.
https://web.cvent.com/event/03e66721-d11a-4ccf-8419-548981d17c30/summary

18/09/2026

Recently, a partnership between BoatUS Foundation, Lynnhaven River NOW, and TowBoatUS removed 10 abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) from waterways across Gloucester and Portsmouth, Virginia, a cleanup supported by an award from NOAA's Marine Debris Program.

The stakes were real: left in place, these vessels crush seagrass and coral habitats, leak fuel and pollutants, and block navigational channels, putting other boaters at risk. Removal isn't simple, either. As Chris Parker, TowBoatUS operator in Gwynns Island, Virginia, put it: "Every removal is different, and often more complex than people realize. Some vessels can be refloated and towed, while others need to be taken apart piece by piece. It takes time and coordination, but the impact on the community and the bay is significant once removed."

That complexity is exactly why partnerships matter. Removal costs average $24,000 per vessel, and while owners are typically pursued first, the burden often falls to the community. Coordinated efforts like this one help share that load and get results.

The Gloucester and Portsmouth cleanup is also a preview of what's possible at scale: BoatUS Foundation recently launched the first national database to track ADVs, making it easier for boaters and coastal residents to report vessels and help drive the next removal effort forward.

13/09/2026

We're pleased to announce two additions to the Turning The Tide Summit 2026 speaker lineup: Chris Rae and Wes Shaw of MyCoast.
MyCoast has built a software platform that puts coastal monitoring in the hands of the public — using crowdsourced citizen science and mobile technology to track coastal change, document storm and flood damage, and report marine pollution. It's a model for how community-driven data can inform environmental protection at scale, and it's directly relevant to the work our summit community does every day.
Rae and Shaw will bring that perspective to New Orleans this December, where they'll join a lineup of practitioners working across research, policy and field operations to tackle abandoned and derelict vessels (ADVs) nationwide.
Turning The Tide Summit 2026 takes place Dec. 6–9 in New Orleans. Registration is open now.
https://web.cvent.com/event/03e66721-d11a-4ccf-8419-548981d17c30/regProcessStep1

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Monday	09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday	09:00 - 17:00
Thursday	09:00 - 17:00
Friday	09:00 - 17:00

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+18002452628

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https://www.boatus.org/

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