Boating safety emphasized as holiday weekend nears

Wednesday, May 11, 2005 | 10:51 a.m.

As Memorial Day weekend approaches, the National Park Service is warning boaters and personal watercraft operators to stay alert as they enjoy the changing water levels on Lakes Mead and Mohave.

Boaters have 500 miles of shoreline and many remote bays and coves to explore on Lake Mead.

Yet the fluctuating levels of Lake Mead, still under drought conditions after this winter's rains, can catch those operating boats, jet skis or other personal watercraft off guard, Park Service spokeswoman Roxanne Dey said.

The year 2000 recorded the most boating accidents on both lakes -- 183 -- but the most deaths occurred in 2002 with six fatal accidents and 2003 with four fatal accidents after the drought began to take a toll on the lake.

"There's definitely a low-water factor," Dey said after examining the number of deaths related to boating accidents on both lakes for 2000 through 2004.

Lake Havasu experiences similar problems to the larger lakes, Mohave County Sheriff Tom Sheahan said.

Drinking and piloting boats is another factor in boating accidents, besides low water levels, Sheahan said. Mohave sheriff's deputies patrol the Arizona side of Lake Havasu, the lower Colorado River and Lake Mead when needed.

"The most common cause of the accidents we investigate is alcohol combined with operator inexperience," Sheahan said.

Whether from islands emerging from lower water levels or from watercraft operators drinking alcohol, the boat repair business stays afloat fixing holes and broken propellers.

Boat repair shop owners and marina operators said that people run into rocks, sand bars and emerging islands every year.

"People still hit stuff," Marine Propeller Works owner Adam Behnke said.

Islands once under water suddenly appear in the boat's windshield, as the bodies of land haven't been marked on maps of the lake, Behnke said.

For Jet Away, the story of drought cutting into the rental and repair businesses for the past five years is quite clear, owner Joe Frohlick said.

Whether it was jet skis or boats, the renters complained about how long it took to get them in or out of the lake's water, now quite a distance from the docks that once were at water's edge, Frohlick said. That caused rentals to plummet.

Instead of going to the most popular bays or marinas, Frohlick said his customers went down to Callville Bay, if they went at all.

"It costs them more money the further they have to go," he said, adding that many of his customers stopped going to the lake.

After the winter rains, Frohlick said business picked up from last year.

"This year it's a lot better," Frohlick said.

"The worst thing about it is, most of the water goes to grow strawberries in the desert," Frohlick said of the Colorado River that feeds Lake Mead and then flows to croplands in Southern California and Arizona.

"The drought is there, but it's not the only thing affecting the lake," Frohlick said.

At the R & R Prop Shop on Lake Mead Drive, business did not fluctuate with lake levels, salesman Kevin Paylor said.

"Our business stayed the same," Paylor said. "People bang their boats and we have to fix things. Day or night, drunk or sober, people still run into things."

Paylor has faith that Mother Nature will refill Lake Mead at some point in the future.

"There's still 700 feet of water in it," Paylor said of the lake. He had a word of warning for boaters, familiar or unfamiliar with the lake: "Just remember, watch out for the rocks."

For the eight to 10 million people who visit Lake Mead every year, including those from Germany, Japan and Great Britain, the drastic drop in the water level changed the lake, said Gail Kaiser, an owner and operator of the Las Vegas Bay Marina.

This spring the lake's waters haven't been so troubling for watercraft, as regular boaters have "settled into" the lake's condition, especially sandbars and rocks, Kaiser said.

"People have to pay more attention," Kaiser said.

Seasonal boaters had the most difficulty adjusting to the new look of the lake after spending the past decade on relatively high water.

"It was a drastic change, because the water dropped so fast," Kaiser said.

The lake is expected to drop again this summer as Southern California demands more water and thirsty Las Vegas residents turn on taps and water turf.

The lower lake levels brought some good news for boaters who seek coves for fishing, picnics or a quiet swim, Kaiser said.

"Some of the coves are more sheltered from the wind," Kaiser said.

Getting across the blue expanse of Lake Mead, however, can bring some surprises in wind gusts or new obstacles.

"Safety on the lake always has to be a factor," Kaiser said.