Discover Boating Facebook Invitation Application Makes it Easy for Captains to Invite Friends on the Water this Summer
Boaters can use innovative trip planner and win nautical gear

Posted Sunday, June 19, 2011

 
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CHICAGO (June 15, 2011) – Boaters love to socialize, whether at the dock, on the water—or online. Now, thanks to Discover Boating, a nonprofit awareness program on behalf of the recreational boating industry, boat owners can invite friends, family and other nautical novices aboard using the new Welcome to the Water boating trip planner at Facebook.com/DiscoverBoating.

“Extending an invitation to friends and family to enjoy a day on your boat is one of the benefits of being a boat owner—you get to bring them along to experience the fun of boating,” says Carl Blackwell, chief marketing officer for Discover Boating. “We wanted to capture the enjoyment of extending that invitation, and we designed an innovative way boaters can share their passion for boating with an online experience that extends to a day on the water—offline.”

Blackwell also notes that more than 15.2 million Facebook users listed boating or boating-related activities as an interest in their profiles.

Launching just in time for peak boating season, the Welcome to the Water boating trip planner is available in the U.S. to those who “Like” Discover Boating at Facebook.com/DiscoverBoating. The application allows “captains” to simply invite their “crew,” using their list of Facebook friends to create an invite.

Beyond the standard date and time options, customizable application features include:

• Type of Boating Trip: What are the plans? Will the “crew” be fishing, cruising or dropping anchor to swim?
• Onboard Supplies: What can each guest bring for the trip? Snacks, fishing bait, towels or chip in for gas?
• Where to Meet: “Captains” can utilize Take Me Fishing’s Places to Boat & Fish tool to give their guests directions to more than 35,000 places to get on the water.

Once the “crew” accepts, trip invitations will be posted on guests’ Facebook pages and newsfeeds, allowing captains and crew to share their on-the-water summer plans. As added incentive, captains will be ranked by the number of people they invite and will be eligible to win weekly nautical prizes. The application will also generate a collective total of boating participants invited to get out on the water throughout the summer.

According to the National Marine Manufacturers Association, 75 million people chose boating as a way to enjoy the outdoors last year and more than 90 percent of Americans live within an hour’s drive of a navigable body of water. For more information on getting started in boating, Discover Boating offers a new step-by-step Get Off Your Dock guide at DiscoverBoating.com. The latest boating news, summer boating playlists and more can be found at Facebook.com/DiscoverBoating.