South Florida family seeks boating safety education after tragic loss of daughter
MIAMI - Florida is considered the boating capital of the United States, with more than a million vessels registered in the state.
But Florida does not require a boating license and safety training requirements don't apply to entire generations of boaters.
Now, one South Florida family is trying to change that, by invoking their late daughter's love of the water.
"Our goal is to have this flag littered all over Biscayne Bay," Andy Fernandez explained.
This blue and yellow flag is almost as bright as the life it represents.
"I fly this flag proudly and in memory of Luciana Cristina Fernandez as a commitment to boater and watercraft safety," added Melissa Fernandez.
Luciana Cristina Fernandez -- Lucy or Lu to her friends and family-- is eternally 17.
"She was an exceptional friend, daughter, sister. She was a really hard worker. And she had a lot of goals and dreams and aspirations like every 17-year-old," said Melissa Fernandez, Lucy's mother.
The Our Lady of Lourdes student died in a Labor Day Weekend boat crash in 2022.
"The irony of this whole thing is, that was her happy place. That was her favorite thing to be out on the boat out on the water," her father, Andy, said.
Lucy's parents say she grew up on boats and looked forward to weekends on the water.
"That was our dream, to have a boat like that. To raise our kids going on those trips, and with our friends and with all of their friends. And now I go and I feel a hesitation, I feel a sadness, because that aspect of our life now has this cloud over it," Melissa said.
Lucy was one of 14 people out celebrating a friend's birthday on board a 29-foot-vessel when it crashed into a channel marker near Boca Chita Key.
Lucy's friend, Katerina Puig, was severely injured and several more girls were hurt when they were thrown overboard.
The boat's operator was George Pino-- the father of one of the girls.
He faces misdemeanor charges of careless operation of a vessel.
The case is still going through the courts, so the Fernandez family did not want to comment on that.
Instead, they are focused on making boating safer for everyone.
"Boats aren't like cars," Melissa said. "There's no stop signs. There's no lights that tell you 'yield, there's another boat coming'."
Andy, a lifelong boater, says a lot has changed since he first started boating.
"Now, it's kind of the wild west out there," he said. "The problems are the operators that don't have the necessary experience, certifications and training."
Florida does not require a license for boating.
The state only requires anyone born after January 1, 1988 to complete a boating safety course and obtain a boating safety ID card.
That means currently no one over 36 years old needs to take any sort of safety course to operate a motorized boat.
Andy has looked at the numbers and believes something needs to change.
"The statistics the past two years are consistent that the age bracket involved in most boating accidents, especially boating accidents where there is a fatality or serious bodily injury, are between 50 and 60 years old, the operators. And then the age group that is the least age group of having had obtained the boater safety ID card is the 50 to 60-year-old category."
Through the Lucy Fernandez Foundation, the family launched the "Learn for Lu" campaign to encourage people to educate themselves before setting sail.
"In a split second (you) could be in command of that boat. Do you know what to do? How to slow it down? How to call the Coast Guard on channel 16? I mean, there's like a checklist of things that are basic. But if you've never kind of gone through, you know, a training or background, you would have no idea," Andy said.
On Tuesday, Andy and Melissa were honored at the Miami-Dade County Commission meeting with the Vilomah Award for turning their heartache into something positive for the community.
"This is the absolute most devastating thing that anyone can go through. Typical me would have gone into a cave and just dug in there and said, 'No, I need my space.' But I said to myself from the first second, 'How would Lucy handle this? And how would she want me as her mom to do this?' And I promise you every decision that we have made, she has been at the forefront of everything."
And now, Lucy's memory is the center of their home.
Shortly before her death, Lucy and her mother planned to remodel her bedroom.
The teen chose all the details, down to the blue wallpaper and travel books.
Her parents eventually created a version of her vision in their home, knocking down a wall to make sure anyone who comes to the house, can feel Lucy's presence.
"It's the heart of our home and our family comes and sits in here," Melissa said of the space they've dubbed 'The Gossip Room'. "We cry and we laugh and we just remember her because every little detail is a piece of her."
The finishing touch is a painting by Lucy's grandfather depicting how he imagined her being called to heaven by the angels.
"She really did live her life every day as if she somehow knew that they were counted," Melissa said. "Sometimes, I would look at her and I would just be in awe of the fact that at 17 she had it so put together."
"We want to make sure that her light, her spirit, continues to shine," Andy added. "That's what we strive to do every day. Some days are harder than others. That's what we strive to do."
Andy and Melissa hope to eventually take their mission to Tallahassee to create boating safety legislation.
For more details on how to get a boating safety ID card, visit .
For more information, visit LucyFernandezFoundation.org
