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If the fear of drowning doesn’t make you want to throw on a lifejacket, perhaps the fines associated with not having one on your boat will.
Retired RCMP reserve officer Phillip Boissonneault says boaters must have a lifejacket for everyone on board – and if they are missing any, the fine starts at $230.
“You are ordered to shore to get the appropriate number of lifejackets. If you are missing more than one, the fine increases by $150 for every missing lifejacket,” he said. “So if you are missing half a dozen jackets, your fine is up over $700.”
Boissonneault’s warning comes ahead of National Safe Boating Week and the May long weekend, the first opportunity for many boaters to get out on the water.
“One boat on Shuswap Lake had 14 young adults on board, the boat was not above its capacity, it was a large boat, but they only had two life jackets. The fine was substantial, and they were escorted to shore,” said Boissonneault of his experience in patrolling the Interior waters.
He notes the majority of boaters are prepared, but those who aren’t pay the price.
“Boaters should plan their trip, be safe on the water, make sure to have lifejackets and wear lifejackets,” he said. “I spent 13 years on the RCMP underwater recovery team and I never once had to search for anybody who was wearing a lifejacket.”
Last year, 70 people drowned accidentally in British Columbia according to the BC Coroners Service.
Of the 535 drowning deaths that occurred from 2008 through 2014, almost 40 per cent were attributed to the use of alcohol and or drugs.
Howard Sures of the Canadian Power and Sail's Okanagan Squadron says many times people are concerned enough to ensure their children are wearing lifejackets when aboard a boat but don’t think of themselves.
“When something happens, it’s typically a tragedy,” Sures said. “When you get a change of weather like this and the weather is cool, hypothermia will kill you. When you first hit the water you will choke and gasp and people will almost take in two litres of water and that is the first step to drowning.
The vast majority of drowning victims in B.C. are men. By age, the highest drowning rates in the province are among young adults aged 20 to 34. Those 20 to 24 years of age have the highest death rate of all age groups.
National Safe Boating Week starts May 21 and runs until 27.
