Water Safety in Rhode Island

In Rhode Island, swim at a beach with lifeguards, wear a life jacket on every boat, and take the state's boating safety course before you drive if you were born in 1986 or later.

Rhode Island's environmental and health department sites blocked our automated checks, so this page is shorter. It sticks to the state law and official national sources.

Rhode Island drowning and boating numbers

1.08 per 100,000

• Drowning: CDC puts Rhode Island's average annual drowning death rate for 2018-2021 at 1.08 per 100,000 people (opens in a new tab), in the lowest band on its map.
• Boating: The U.S. Coast Guard counted 26 reportable recreational boating incidents in Rhode Island in 2024, with 3 deaths and 9 injuries (opens in a new tab). Deaths by year: 2 in 2020, 2 in 2021, 3 in 2022, 1 in 2023 and 3 in 2024.
• Coast: NOAA lists 384 miles of official shoreline (opens in a new tab) for Rhode Island.

CDC counts drowning deaths of residents; the Coast Guard counts boating incidents. See our Rhode Island data page.

Ocean beaches

The National Weather Service's advice for surf beaches applies on Rhode Island's ocean beaches:

• Rip currents often form on calm, sunny days (opens in a new tab), so nice weather doesn't mean safe water.
• Lifeguards help. The Weather Service, quoting the U.S. Lifesaving Association, says the chance of drowning at a beach with lifeguards is 1 in 18 million.
• A pool is not the ocean. Swimming in a pool is NOT the same as swimming at a surf beach (opens in a new tab), where waves, wind and currents use up your energy fast.

If a rip current pulls you, the Weather Service steps (opens in a new tab) are: relax, don't swim against it, swim out of the current and then to shore, float or tread water if you can't escape, and yell or wave for help. Practice with our rip current guide, and read why swimming near a lifeguard matters.

Boating and life jackets

The Coast Guard's 2024 national report shows why life jackets matter: where cause of death was known, 76% of fatal boating incident victims drowned (opens in a new tab), and where life jacket use was known, 87% of those who drowned were not wearing one. Wear yours, buckled, from the dock to the dock. See how to choose a life jacket. Early and late in the season, read cold water shock.

Rhode Island boating rules

Rhode Island law (R.I. Gen. Laws 46-22-9.8) says no person born on or after January 1, 1986 shall operate a vessel that is fitted with propulsion machinery of more than ten (10) horsepower (opens in a new tab) on state waters without completing a boating safety education program approved by the Department of Environmental Management. Approved programs include NASBLA-approved courses offered by the state and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary. Personal watercraft rules may differ; check with DEM.

Federal law requires children under 13 to wear a life jacket on a moving boat (opens in a new tab). This is a summary, not legal advice.

What you can do today

• Plan beach days for guarded beaches during lifeguard hours.
• Teach your family the rip current steps.
• Take an approved boating safety course if you were born in 1986 or later.
• Fit and wear life jackets for every boat trip.
• Find swim lessons with our guide to finding swim lessons.