The Delaware River and its tributaries have claimed the lives of nearly 100 people within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area since the park began keeping records. The deceased range in age from 9 to 78 years old and were engaged in various activities — swimming, boating, fishing, even scuba diving — but all the incidents had one factor in common: The victim didn’t have on a properly fastened life jacket.
Wearing one is “strongly recommended” by the park — not on the assumption that swimmers are weak, but on the recognition that the river is strong.
“Never try to swim across the river,” the park warns on the swimming page of its website, adding that “currents are deceiving” and this is how many drownings occur.
Of 101 drownings that have occurred since records were started in 1971, 89 happened in the river and nine were in tributaries. Lakes or ponds within the park have claimed three lives.
Only one incident involved a person wearing a life jacket, and in that case it came off in the water because it wasn’t fastened correctly.
Five people drowned within the park during the summer of 2020, tying with 2013 as the second-deadliest year on record. Seven people drowned in 1999.
Swimming is recommended at three beaches in the park: Milford Beach and Smithfield Beach on the Pennsylvania side, and Turtle Beach on the New Jersey side. Outside those areas, the activity is “permitted, but not recommended,” the park website says. “Strong currents, sharp drop-offs, and constantly changing river conditions make many areas unsafe for swimming.”
In addition to wearing a life jacket, swimmers are advised not to go in the river alone.
The park has some areas where swimming is not allowed, including “within 50 feet of a boat launch, a canoe launch, or the top of any waterfall.”
Additionally, swimming is off-limits at Kittatinny Point, New Jersey; Van Campens Glen, New Jersey; Dingmans Falls, Pennsylvania; and George W. Childs Recreation Site, Pennsylvania.
On the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River, a separate national park site covering 73.4 miles of the river farther north, 69 people have drowned since 1980. Similarly, none of those victims were wearing a life jacket.
The Upper Delaware is partnering with the National Safe Boating Council to urge participation in Wear Your Life Jacket at Work Day on Friday, May 21.
Participants are asked “to take a picture of themselves in their life jacket while at work — whether that’s home, the office, in a suit, or in your jammies and post it on social media along with the hashtags #lifejacketatwork and #safeboating on Upper Delaware’s Facebook page @updeNPS and Instagram @upperdelawarenps,” the Upper Delaware said in a news release. “Also be sure to tag @BoatingCampaign on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.”
It’s important not to wear a life jacket that’s too big or too small, the National Safe Boating Council’s Safe Boating Campaign says.
The campaign recommends the following when trying on a life jacket:
- “Check the manufacturer’s ratings for your size and weight.”
- “Make sure the life jacket is properly zipped and/or buckled.”
- “Check for fit by raising your arms above your head while wearing the life jacket and ask a friend to grasp the tops of the arm openings and gently pull up.”
- “Ensure your life jacket fits properly with no excess room above the openings and the life jacket does not ride up over your chin or face. A snug fit in these areas shows the life jacket fits properly.”
See safeboatingcampaign.com for more information.
— Kathryne Rubright/Pocono Record via Associated Press
