 Hello my name is Jennifer Gantt. I am the 4-H Foundation Regional Extension Agent serving Calhoun County, Alabama. Today I'm going to talk to you a little bit about water safety. First, if you were boating even if it's in a canoe or kayak you need to have a life jacket on. Life jacket, life vest, life preserver, personal flotation device, PFD, whatever you choose to call it, it is the first line of defense in the water while boating. Most people that drown in boating accidents do not die because they cannot swim, but become incapacitated in the water. Today I will show you the simple steps to make sure your PFD is correct for you. Make sure it fits. You don't want your PFD too large or too small. A snug fit is a proper fit. An adult life jacket does not work for youth or vice versa. Youth life jackets are by body weight, an adult PFD are by chest size. Check for proper fit by first cinching up the adjustment straps starting from the bottom. Now lift up on the shoulder straps if the jacket stays in place it is a good fit. If the jacket rides up that the front of the jacket comes up to your chin or higher it is a dangerous fit. Try retighting the straps and repeating the lift test. If it still rides up you've got the wrong jacket or the wrong size. This life jacket is too big. Make sure your life jacket fits. Check the straps and the zippers. Make sure it's properly fastened. Do the lift test. If it lifts over your head it doesn't fit. Remember life jackets are for adults as well. So are we ready for the water now that we have a properly fitted life jacket? Well a properly fitted life jacket is one step that needs to occur before you go to the water. You also need to check to make sure your life jacket has no holes, broken snaps, broken buckles or any wear and tear signs. If you see any of these items tell your parents before you use it and before you get to your water destination. The last important safety tip is to have a plan. The plan will include where you are going land and water destination. What type of water activity are you planning swimming, boating, when you are leaving and when you are returning from your destination. Your plan will also include an emergency contact, a phone number for someone in your party. A safety plan is an important part of enjoying the water safely. Hi my name is Katie Hill and I serve Chambers County, Alabama as their 4-H Regional Extension Agent. As Jennifer mentioned before it is always essential to have a plan before leaving out on the water. The first step is by mapping out where you want to go and how long you want to paddle. One great resource that you can use is the Alabama Recreation Trails.org website to map out your float. This website allows you to look up equestrian, hiking, walking and paddling trails. Once on the website scroll down and click on paddling. This list different paddling trails in Alabama and allows you to search amenities as well. The map lets you click on different locations or you can scroll the list for options. This weekend I'm on Lay Lake and one great spot that is near me is the County Road 112 to County Road 29 float. This float is about two miles long. Where do you plan on paddling this summer? Show us your favorite spots and pictures of you paddling in the comments and find your adventure this summer.