Don't Do These 5 Stupid Things on Lakes this Memorial Day Weekend

Sure, we get it. The lake and a cold adult beverage go together like sand and a pail

But if you’re out boating this Memorial Day Weekend — and the weather seems perfect for it — don’t wreck your fun, possibly your boat and potentially the people around you with drunken boating.

The penalty is the same as for drunken drivers. So if you’re drinking, it’s as simple as this: Don’t operate a boat.

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Here’s a list, in no particular order of stupidity, of some of the things you shouldn’t do while boating:

1. It’s plain-down stupid to be operating a boat while drunk. It’s also against the law, which recently changed in Michigan. A new law lowers the blood alcohol content limit for watercraft operators from 0.1 percent to 0.08 percent, similar to the limit for automobile drivers.
2. Also stupid: Firing up a joint while boating, or using any Schedule I drug, is against the law, the same as it is for motorists. And if anyone under the age of 16 is on the boat while this stupid behavior occurs, prepare to pay the man more.
3. People under 21 to operating a boat with any alcohol or drugs in their systems whatsoever — or to do anything with any alcohol in their bodies? Stupid. It’s against the law. The lakes aren’t under-21 territories.
4. It’s really stupid not to wear a life vest. Drowning is the No. 1 cause of death in boating accidents, and of all drowning deaths reported to the U.S. Coast Guard in 2013, 84 percent were not wearing a floatation device. Under Michigan law, all boats must carry a floatation device for every passenger.
5. And it’s stupid in that slap-your-forehead way not to renew your boat and watercraft registrations before you head out for the Memorial Day Weekend. The Michigan Secretary of State’s Office offers online registration at www.ExpressSOS.com. The Recreation Passport, which is available for $11 when renewing a vehicle plate, provides boaters with access to any of the boat launches found in state parks across Michigan.

• Take extra precaution near boats towing skiers or tubers.
• Never reverse the boat to pick up someone out of the water but instead circle around to the person.
• Examine the boat’s stern to make certain no one is near the propeller before the engine is started.
• Be especially alert when operating in congested areas and never enter swimming zones.
• Don’t allow passengers to ride on the bow, transom, seatbacks or other locations where they might fall overboard.
• Stop immediately if someone falls overboard and slowly turn the boat around while keeping the person in sight as you approach.
• Learn to recognize scuba diver markers.

Image credit: Photo by F Delventhal, via Flickr / Creative Commons, shows a common boating mistake: failure to wear life jackets.