Staying safe on the water this long weekend

Local groups and law enforcement are urging caution if boaters plan on taking to the water this May long weekend.

Safe Boating Awareness Week, which runs from May 18 to May 24, aims to make safety a top priority.

According to the Canadian Safe Boating Council, more than 16 million people will use a motorized or manual watercraft this year.

“Considering that the majority of the lakes in Canada are in the provinces of Ontario and Quebec that’s where the main concentration is going to be,” Ian Gilson, the director of the Canadian Safe Boating Council, said.

Ontario Provincial Police say they’ll be on the lookout for unsafe boating this summer.

“Crashes, falling off the boat, capsizing off a fixed object or hitting land or ground are leading issues that we see over and over again,” Sgt. Kerry Schmidt told CTV News.

OPP said there were 23 marine deaths in Ontario last year and 21 of those involved capsized watercraft or people falling overboard. Of those, 17 victims weren’t wearing a life jacket.

“Roughly 80 to 85 per cent of the fatalities that we see are from people who aren’t wearing a life jacket,” Gilson said. “The main reason that they say they don’t wear a life jacket is: ‘Hey, I can swim.’”

Schmidt also warned that swimming could be more difficult this time of year as lake temperature are cold.

“You could get caught with hypothermia very quickly.”

The Canadian Safe Boating Council also points the finger at impaired boating as a serious contributor to fatal incidents.

Offenders, meanwhile, could face stiff penalties.

“If you’re drunk or if you’re impaired that’s the same consequence as driving a vehicle impaired,” Schmidt said. “You will also get your driver’s licence suspended automatically.”

One death has already been reported so far this year, involving a kayaker.

The Canadian Safe Boating Council is reminding boaters to pack life jackets on all watercraft, and to wear them on personal watercraft like jet skis. Boaters are also urged to leave a sail plan and tell someone on shore where you’re going before hitting the water.

More information on safe boating and how to get started can be found here.