LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office Marine Patrol Unit will be participating in Operation Dry Water this coming weekend, with Marine Patrol deputies out in force specifically looking for signs of boaters operating boats while impaired.

Operation Dry Water was launched in 2009 by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in partnership with the United States Coast Guard and has been a highly successful effort to draw public attention to the hazards of boating under the influence (BUI) of alcohol and drugs, the sheriff's office reported.

Held in June just prior to the July 4 holiday, Operation Dry Water is a national weekend of BUI detection and enforcement aimed at reducing the number of alcohol and drug-related accidents and fatalities and fostering a stronger and more visible deterrent to alcohol and drug use on the water.  

Operation Dry Water is coordinated by NASBLA, in partnership with the states, the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies.

In 2011, all 50 states and 6 U.S. Territories participated in Operation Dry Water. Over that three-day weekend there were 43,777 vessels and 97,648 boaters contacted by law enforcement, 325 BUI arrests made, and 4,370 citations and 8,763 warnings issued for safety violations.
    
U.S. Coast Guard 2011 data reveal that alcohol was a primary contributing factor in 16 percent of fatalities from recreational boating accidents, the sheriff's office reported.

Operating a boat with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08 or higher is against federal law and California State laws.

Alcohol can impair a boater’s judgment, balance, vision, and reaction time. It can increase fatigue and susceptibility to the effects of cold-water immersion.

Sun, wind, noise, vibration, and motion – “stressors” common to the boating environment – intensify the effects of alcohol, drugs, and some medications.

Alcohol consumption can result in an inner ear disturbance that can make it impossible for a person suddenly immersed in water to distinguish up from down.

Impairment can be even more dangerous for boaters than for motor vehicle drivers, since most boaters have less experience and confidence operating a boat than they do driving a car. Boaters average only about 110 hours of boating per year.

A three-year field evaluation by the Southern California Research Institute, completed in 2010, validated a battery of tests for marine use that are now the basis for efforts to implement a National Marine Field Sobriety Test standard.  

Combined with chemical tests using blood, breath, and urine samples, these validated ashore and afloat tests give marine law enforcement officers an impressive arsenal in their ongoing efforts to enforce BUI laws.

Persons found to be boating under the influence can expect to incur severe penalties. If a boat operator is BUI, the voyage may be terminated, the boat may be impounded and the operator may be arrested.  Penalties vary by state, but can include fines, jail, loss of boating privileges, even loss of driving privileges.

Alcohol is also dangerous for passengers. Intoxication can lead to slips, falls overboard and other dangerous accidents.

It is illegal in every state and territory to operate a boat while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. BUI laws pertain to all boats, from canoes and rowboats to the largest ships.

While boating, it's important to observe other basic safety precautions, including wearing a life jacket.

In 2011, 70 percent of those who died in a boating accident drowned; 84 percent of those who drowned were not wearing a life jacket.

Boat operator instruction is a significant factor in avoiding and surviving accidents. Only 11 percent of fatalities in 2011 occurred on boats where the operator was known to have received boating safety instruction.