Both
safety events feature free vessel checks for boats, kayaks and
canoes. Safe boaters must know the rules of the waterway and
how to operate their vessels. The inspections will assure that
boats have proper registration, navigation lights, one life
jacket per person and a fire extinguisher among other items.
Patrollers also recommend an anchor, first aid kit and radio.
Lake
Mead
In
addition to the safety information and demonstrations, the first
250 boaters at Safe Boating Day on Lake Mead, southeast of Las
Vegas, will receive free, United States Coast Guard‑approved
life jackets available in assorted sizes. Trade‑ins are
encouraged. Underscoring the importance of the usage of life
jackets, Coast Guard statistics show 90 percent of the 484 drowning
fatalities in 2004 were not wearing personal floatation devices.
The Coast Guard estimates 431 lives could have been saved if
boaters had worn life jackets.
Nunes
and Brian Berry, coordinator of the Lake Mead Safe Boating Partnership,
boast about the appearance and facility of inflatable life jackets
suitable for boaters in hot weather. “They look like suspenders
on a person,” Nunes said.
The
Lake Mead partnership–which includes the Arizona Game and Fish
Department, National Park Service, Nevada Department of Wildlife,
Personal Watercraft Industry Association and the California
Department of Boating and Waterways–will host the safety day.
Special features include instructions for kids and boat launching
demonstrations. Berry identified the ramps as a common place
for accidents each year.
Boaters
who attend the safety event may even ride away with a prize.
“The prizes make this event, the National Safe Boating Week,
the premiere one in the nation,” Berry said.
The
partnership will give away a personal watercraft, a week‑long
houseboat vacation and rafting trips. To be eligible, boaters
must show proof of completing an approved boating safety class
and take the mini‑course during the event at Lake Mead.
Berry said half of the accidents on the water involve visitors
and encourages Arizona residents to beat the Memorial Day crowd
and attend Safe Boating Day. The event will be held May 20 from
10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hemenway Harbor. For more information,
go to www.boatlakemead.com.
Lake
Pleasant
The
Boating Safety Celebration at Lake Pleasant Regional Park in
Peoria features towing and search and rescue demonstrations.
It also includes vessel safety checks and demonstrations on
personal watercraft operation and life jacket sizing and use.
“Parents
so often make the mistake of putting the wrong size life jacket
on their kids,” Berry said. If the jackets are too loose or
too tight, they become ineffective. Kevin Bergersen, Arizona’s
boating law administrator, said the number of boating fatalities
in 2004 (the most current statistics available) could have been
reduced by half if victims had worn life jackets.
According
to the 2004 Arizona Boating Safety Report, 66 accidents occurred
in Maricopa County, making it the highest number in the state.
Nineteen of them occurred at Lake Pleasant.
Boaters
who attend the safety celebration can haul in brochures and
other informational pieces addressing state and federal boating
laws, the sponsoring organizations and life jackets. The event
is sponsored by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, Phoenix
Sail and Power Squadron, U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Maricopa
County Parks and Recreation, Peoria Fire Department, National
Water Safety Congress and the Central Arizona Project.
“We’re
out there trying to show them how to avoid getting into trouble,”
Nunes said.
rom
July 2004 to June 2005, more than 55,000 water enthusiasts visited
Lake Pleasant, a destination known as one of the most scenic
water recreation areas in Arizona. The Safe Boating Celebration
at Lake Pleasant will be held May 20 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission
is $5 per vehicle, plus $2 per watercraft. For more information,
go to www.maricopa.gov/parks/lake_pleasant.
For
information on boating education classes, go to http://www.azgfd.gov/i_e/edits/boating_education.shtml
or call (602) 789‑3235.
Reach
the reporter at ambria@thedesertadvocate.com.
