What is your name?

Bob Pratt

What is your agency/organization?

Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project

How long have you been with them?

I’m a co-founder. We have been incorporated 4 years.

What is their mission? How do they prevent drowning and promote water safety?

Our mission is “To Save Lives”. We collaborate with anyone and everyone that works to prevent drowning. Our main foci are the 5 Great Lakes. We do educational programs for a wide range of audiences including Police/ Fire agencies, Schools (Kindergarten through High School), civic groups and the general public. We teach lifeguard programs at all levels. We have a network of loved ones who have lost someone to drowning and we work to support them. We collect date on the Great Lakes drownings and work with groups to understand trends and create effective prevention messaging. We are a media resource and subject matter expert for a range of media and educational groups. We also utilize a range of social media to spread the water safety message.

How will the rescue board help you/your agency in your mission?

The Princess Charlene of Monaco rescue board has and will continue to be a wonderful tool in our programs. We use it in a wide variety of ways. It will serve as a backdrop for school assemblies and media events. It is used in all of our lifeguarding classes.

One of our partners: The ARC program brings disadvantaged kids to the beach and it is used by our lifeguards to protect the swimmers and also by the kids when we teach them water safety. We have used the board to protect open water swimmers and will use it to protect triathletes at races. I have also used it as a competition board at paddleboard events. Because of its beauty, it attracts a lot of attention; we love telling the story of H.S.H. Princess Charlene and how we received the board.

How did you find about that H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco was going to donate rescue boards to you?

Henry Reyes sent us an e-mail outlining he opportunity and asking about our interest. We immediately responded that we would love to be part of the program. When he called to tell us we had been selected we were over the moon. The news was fantastic and inspired us to think of creative ways to use the board.

How did you feel when you received the rescue board?

Unwrapping the board was like the best Christmas ever. The pictures just don’t do it justice. The board is stunning!!

Have you used the rescue board?

The board is used as a teaching tool in the programs where we teach participants to make in-water rescues. This includes lifeguard classes, training of police/ fire agencies and public classes for adults.

What is the best thing about the rescue board?

This question is just too hard to answer. There are so many awesome things about the board I don’t know where to start. The fact that it is from H.S.H. Princess Charlene means a great deal. Drowning is such a worldwide pandemic that gets so little attention, it’s encouraging to know that there are people who care and are committed to preventing drowning.

Receiving the board from I.S.L.A. is also wonderful; we love and respect this group so much. The worldwide lifeguard training, the Global Drowning Tracker and now the Presidential recognition! Even the fact the the board was made by Jamie Mitchel is great; we’ve followed his progress as an Australian lifeguard, surfer and paddleboard racer. We are proud to be associated with such fine people.

How has the rescue board prevented drowning in your area? How has it made a difference?

Prevention work is interesting; you never know what kind of impact you are making. We are often reminded that little things nudge us in a particular direction. Several people who have attended our programs have decided to take additional training. One is now working to become a Coast Guard rescue swimmer!

Do you have a personal story about your use of the board? Or someone in your organization using the board to make a rescue?

It is only a matter of time before THIS board is used in an actual rescue, but it has been used in dozens of simulated rescues and will be used in hundreds more.

What does drowning prevention mean to you?

Drowning prevention is a passion of ours. We love the water so much but realize it’s capable of such tragedy. Drowning is so preventable if we just teach people simple techniques and give them a basic understanding. Together we can eliminate the drowning epidemic.

How do you prevent drowning?

Drowning covers a wide range of situations but there are three main areas that must be addressed. By creating safer swimmers, safer water and a safer response we can eliminate the vast majority of drownings. We work on all three fronts. We teach people how to be safer around the water. We advocate and advise municipalities in ways they can create safer beaches and we train lifeguards and other first responders how to effectively rescue people.

What would you like to say to H.S.H. Princess Charlene of Monaco?

Words cannot express our gratitude for your efforts in water safety. Thank you so much for all that you do! Thank you for your gift of the rescue board. We are humbled by your generosity and are thrilled to be working with you, ISLA, and the whole water safety community.