Boaters stopped, reminded of safety

Jace Radke

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 10:42 a.m.

Boaters were scrambling to find fire extinguishers and life preservers as they pulled into Lake Mead's Callville Bay Marina Sunday afternoon.

There was no emergency on the water, but there could have been, and that's the point law enforcement officials were trying to drive home at a safety and sobriety checkpoint.

Boats coming into the marina between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. were met by a multijurisdictional taskforce and asked to produce their safety equipment and go through a field sobriety test.

"We lose about 30 people a year out here on the lake, some in boating accidents," said Victor Gamboa, a Nevada Division of Wildlife game warden. "We are trying to curb that statistic, and when people stop at a checkpoint and get a warning or a citation it's something they remember next time they come out."

Sunday's checkpoint was the second of two interagency inspections by the Nevada Division of Wildlife, the National Park Service, the Nevada Highway Patrol, the Nevada Division of Investigations and the Arizona Game & Fish Department.

About 267 boats passed through the checkpoint Sunday as rangers and wardens handed out warnings and citations that start at $25.

Only three people were detained, one for an outstanding felony theft warrant and two others for operating boats under the influence of alcohol.

"The less people we have to arrest the more positive we feel, because it means people are becoming educated to the safety precautions they have to take at the lake," Park Service Ranger Paul Crawford said.

Those precautions include carrying a life preserver, fire extinguisher and enough life jackets for everyone on a boat.

As boaters pull into the marina rangers and wardens on personal watercraft guide them to a dock where about 30 officials quickly inspect the boats and their drivers.

"Nine out of 10 people who are stopped are happy to take the 5 minutes to talk about safety and let us check their boat out," Gamboa said. "Then there are the ones that are drunk and don't want to be stopped."

Most boaters, like Huntington Beach, Calif. native, Jerry Hill said they didn't mind making the unscheduled stop in their day.

"The lake can be so dangerous and it's always good to get a reminder on safety and to cut down on the drunk boaters out there," Hill said. "It's really not a hassle to spend a few minutes with this when you think about the consequences."

The Division of Wildlife makes about 40 to 70 arrests of drunk boaters a year in the Colorado River and Lakes Mead and Mojave, said Supervising Game Warden David Pfiffner.

"We make quite a few arrests, but I don't know if it's as big a problem as it used to be," Pfiffner said. "We get the word out with these checkpoints, and it's a matter of us keeping a constant vigilance to keep it from growing into a lot bigger problem."

The checkpoints are part of a team effort to stop drunk boaters, and cut down on the fatal boat crashes, drownings and other accidents at the lake, Crawford said.

"Last year we had about 10 fatalities involving boaters (at Lake Mead)," Crawford said. "This year we have had just one fatality involving a boater or personal watercraft, and that's partly attributed to the education and enforcement efforts of the agencies out here."

Those efforts start with what Crawford calls "wolf pack patrols," that give boaters a chance to see the enforcement arm of the park service and the other agencies.

"People are used to seeing one or two boats out on the lake, but with these patrols we send out four boats and basically fly the colors," Crawford said. "Seeing that many patrol boats together is a real good reminder for people to be careful out there."

The patrols start in the morning in the "no wake" zones near the lake's marinas so boaters can get a quick safety check. Then the patrol heads out on the lake before returning to the marinas in the afternoon as boaters are leaving the lake.

Along with the patrols the checkpoints have also been highly affective in educating boaters about safety and staying away from alcohol on the water, Crawford said.

"We had two checkpoints this year and next year we'll probably have four," Crawford said. "You can't stick with the same tactics out here, you have to adjust and find out what the boaters are thinking."

The next adjustment in the fight against dangerous boaters could be in the classroom.

"We know it's tough to change adult behavior, so our next step is to get into the schools and talk about water safety," Crawford said. "The fire departments are already in the schools talking about fire and pool safety and with the popularity of Lake Mead we could tie right in with what people need to do when they come out here."