Safe Boating Awareness Week aims to keep boaters safe all season

The beginning of summer marks the busiest time of year for recreational users on B.C.'s coastlines, rivers and lakes.

With the May long weekend considered the unofficial start of the season and the official start of Safe Boating Awareness Week, police patrols are now ramping up the waterways to ensure boaters are engaging in safe practises. 

The Vancouver Police Department Marine Unit operates 24 hours a day and Cst. Janet Stringer said boaters need to be prepared. 

Boaters need right equipment

"Now is a good time to check whether the batteries in your flashlight work and all the light bulbs are working and your flares have not expired," Stringer said Saturday. "Do this before you leave the dock or we might be sending you back to shore."

Stringer said often the police marine unit is watching a particular boat based on the behaviour of the driver.

Police are looking to make sure drivers have their pleasure craft operator card and all the people in the boat are wearing life jackets. 

It's also a requirement that all boats on the water need to have working lights, a throw line, a bailing bucket, a waterproof flashlight an anchor and a whistle.

Marine units checking boats all summer

One of the boaters stopped by police Saturday said she knew that police would be out checking to make sure all the equipment on board is working. 

"We're all set for the season," said Kristy Isaak, who was getting ready to begin a season of fishing near Ambleside this summer. "They pointed out to us we should get a fire extinguisher just in case we have an issue."

Isaak said boaters need to be prepared and no one ever can predict when they're going to require assistance from marine safety units. 

Police don't have exact numbers of how many lives are lost on the water each year but say there was a slight rise in fatalities over the last two years.

Stringer, with the VPD marine unit, says authorities still catch people every year who drink when they're driving their boats and the consequences are the same as drinking and driving on the road. 

Rick Cassels with the Canadian Safe Boating Council says the most important safety tip is to always wear a personal flotation device.