In his latest Ask Mario video, Mario Vittone answers Craig Warner's question: " When would you let one of your crew go into the water to assist someone who is unable to help themselves?"

In this Ask Mario video, Mario Vittone answers Len Thibodeaux's question: Does Mario prefer EPIRBs or Satellite Tracking Devices?

For the past year, former US Coast Guard rescue swimmer Mario Vittone has been teaching Soundings readers how to be safer on the water through his “Lifelines: Safety And Rescue At Sea” blog. He will continue to educate us, but first, he wants to hear from you. READ MORE.

For the past year, Mario Vittone has been writing the Lifelines: Safety And Rescue At Sea blog for Soundingsonline.com. Now he is undertaking a new venture with Soundings, called Ask Mario, where readers can get answers to their boating safety questions. In this video, Mario answers the question: How often should thru hull fittings be replaced? WATCH

It was an average day on the Columbia River in Oregon as a trio of anglers fished for salmon. Before they knew it, all three were jumping into the water just seconds before a Bayliner Trophy ran over top of their boat.

After working an incident where an angler and his two sons lost their lives, Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Mario Vittone changed his focus to helping boaters prepare for the worst. He writes about the case, and his upcoming Boaters University video series, in this week’s Lifelines: Safety And Rescue At Sea blog.