Monday, April 6, 1998 | 9:20 a.m.
BOULDER CITY, Nev. - Millions flock here annually to enjoy America's largest manmade lake, setting off surf wars between high-powered speedboats, trolling fishing rigs and noisy, jet-propelled water craft.
Some drivers are legally drunk as they race across Lake Mead, others are barely out of elementary school, in control of craft that can kill or maim.
The boating season got off to an ominous start last month when a flashy "cigarette" boat slammed into the shore at 50 mph, killing four people and injuring three. Officials hope it isn't an omen for the upcoming season.
Some 27 million people visit the Lake Mead National Recreation Area annually, with most taking to the water. A busy holiday weekend will find some 5,000 craft vying for a place to run on 160,000-acre Lake Mead and 27,000-acre Lake Mohave, linked to the south by the Colorado River.
Bob McKeever, Mead's assistant chief ranger for water activities and president of the National Water Safety Congress, said the problems that plague boating are "recklessness and cluelessness."
"Recklessness such as hotdogging and cluelessness in that they have no idea how dangerous the machine can be," McKeever, who has been at the lake 17 years, said in a recent interview.
That point was proven March 22 when a 47-foot boat on a late night run near Hoover Dam slammed into a beach area, killing four people.
The accident occurred just hours after the party was asked to leave the busy Lake Mead Marina.
"They were loud and disruptive, spilling drinks," said Roy Bristow, the marina's food and beverage manager. "One of them threw a plate of food at our bartender. They were out of control. I told them to just go away. The people mooned the marina as the boat pulled out.
"They were just an accident waiting to happen," Bristow said. "Unfortunately it did."
Earlier in the day the Nevada Division of Wildlife arrested the boat driver on a charge of operating the boat while under the influence of alcohol. Another passenger passed a field sobriety test and was allowed to take control of the boat.
Karen Whitney, public information officer for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, said it could not be determined whether anybody was drunk at the time of the wreck because the seven victims were not discovered until 10 hours after the accident.
Some estimate that alcohol plays a part in 70 percent of the accidents at Lake Mead while others believe the figure is closer to 40 or 50 percent, McKeever said.
"When it does play a part, it plays a big part," McKeever said. "Typically they're the higher speed and more serious accidents."
There were 136 boating accidents and one fatality on the lake last year, McKeever said.
Although alcohol and high-powered boats can be the most deadly mixture, the proliferation of jet-propelled water craft - small, fiesty runabouts that hold one or two people - cause the most headaches.
Park planner Jim Holland says public surveys point to personal water craft, or PWCs, as the biggest problem on the lake.
"The public has told us they are a real problem," Holland said. "They fear being run into by a PWC. When a significant portion of the public tells us that, it's a real problem."
Use of the PWCs too close to swimmers, fishermen or other boats is a major problem since they comprise about 35 percent of the craft on the lake, Holland said.
"For some reason, people who are operating PWCs along the shoreline want to have attention," Holland said. "They're seeking attention along our crowded shorelines."
The problem is exacerbated by the fact they have become a toy to some because of their size and maneuverability.
Beverly Chandler, manager of the Lake Mead Marina, says people come to the lake to relax and many resent misuse of PWCs.
"It's like wanting to commune with the desert and having 15 off-road vehicles roaring by," Chandler said. "The most danger with PWCs is with young kids. Some of them use them as bump 'em cars."
Nevada law allows anyone 12 or older to drive a boat, but Chandler says she's seen a lot of 10-year-olds operating water craft. She refuses to rent the marina's fleet of boats to anyone under 18.
"I think it's too young," McKeever said of Nevada's age limit. "We wouldn't let a 12-year-old operate a Corvette on the highway."
McKeever said he would like to see the minimum age raised, and that the industry recommends 16. Still, the younger set is not the biggest problem.
"The biggest percentage of problems doesn't occur in the 12-to-16 age group, it occurs in the 20-to-30 age group," McKeever said.
One of the issues Holland is addressing is "recreational conflict" - complaints by lake users that their visit was "compromised" by others.
He said the park's 45 rangers are spread thin trying to enforce the law over 190,000 acres of water and 1.3 million acres of land.
Keeping the law on the water and the land is a tough job, Chandler said.
"In the past 15 years the visitation has doubled while the park service staff has been cut," she said.
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