WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - May 13, 2014) - On Saturday, May 17, participants in cities around the globe will gather to set a world record for the most life jackets worn and inflatable life jackets inflated on the fifth annual 'Ready, Set, Wear It!' Life Jacket World Record Day. The National Safe Boating Council and Canadian Safe Boating Council have again partnered to support this one-day event.

"Summer is almost here and this is a great opportunity to inspect your life jacket and get a refresher on boating safety as you join thousands to set a world record," said Rachel Johnson, executive director of the National Safe Boating Council. 

Ready, Set, Wear It! is part of the yearlong Wear It! campaign to promote boating safety and voluntary wear of life jackets. The event will usher in National Safe Boating Week, held from May 17-23, 2014. Last year, 5,774 participants gathered at more than 185 events held around the world to set the new world record. Nearly 13,000 people have participated in the event since 2010.

"You can still have fun on the water while choosing to always wear a life jacket and boating responsibly," said Jean Murray, chair of the Canadian Safe Boating Council. "Old-fashioned, bulky orange life jackets have been replaced with innovative styles, including inflatable life jackets, allowing for mobility and flexibility during water activities."

U.S. Coast Guard statistics show that drowning was the reported cause of death in almost three-fourths of recreational boating fatalities in 2012, and that 85 percent of those who drowned were not wearing life jackets. That's why boating safety advocates continue to push for increased and consistent life jacket wear on the water.

The North American Safe Boating Campaign unites the efforts of a wide variety of boating safety advocates, including the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, Canadian Safe Boating Council and many members of the National Safe Boating Council. The campaign is produced under a grant from the Sports Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Share your boating story at SafeBoatingCampaign.com, and follow Wear It! at twitter.com/BoatingCampaign and facebook.com/SafeBoatCampaign.