Dry Water

Now, there’s an oxymoron for you. “Dry water.” Over in Littleton, the marine enforcement officers from the Colorado State Parks went through training to aid them in looking for boaters who are too inebriated to be safely running any kind of motorized vehicle out in public.

The legal limit is .08%, just like when driving a car or truck. The national campaign of “Operation Dry Water” includes beefing up the number of patrols and checkpoints on the lakes and rivers, as well as teaching the public about the problem. It’s important to know, not only because you may end up rowing yourself a long way home, and not only because you will face a hefty fine, possibly go to jail, get your boat impounded, and also lose your privilege to drive a boat around on your day off. It’s more than that.

Note the word “privilege.” That’s because the lakes and rivers belong to more than just you, Mr. Drinking Boat-driver. You ought to care about the other people who are out there, and do all that you can to prevent serious accidents. The Golden Rule says, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Would you like to have someone ruin your fun with an injury and/or an accident?

Kris Wahlers is an investigator with the Colorado State Parks. Referring to the weekend of June 24-26, 2011, she said, “We intend to stop intoxicated boaters and to educate as many boaters as possible about the hazards of Boating Under the Influence (BUI). There will be arrests this weekend, and some boaters will face the consequences of boating under the influence.We want recreational boaters to enjoy themselves, but there will be zero tolerance for BUI.”

Statistics show that BUI has been a primary contributing factor in about 20% of the boating fatalities nationwide.

It’s a sad state when so many people think that they can only have a good time if they are consuming alcohol. If this is the case, then from now on, those people are going to have to choose between having a good time boating and having a good time drinking.
Zooming along on the waves with the bright sunny sky above and the scent of the spray around them, and perhaps diving in for a turn on skis or inner tube. Or sitting in a chair watching.

It’ll have to be a choice.