How to stay safe while participating in water activities
Wildlife Conservation Office Chris Dekker shares water safety tips and rules
RAPID CITY, S.D. (KEVN) - As it gets warmer this summer, you may find yourself on a boat or participating in water related activities. South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks Wildlife Conservation Officer Chris Dekker reminds us how you can stay safe when you are on the water.
“At high noon, sun’s real bright, it’s going to be hard to see some of those smaller vessels on the water or right at sunset when you are looking into the sun coming back to the marina,” Dekker said.
On a bright sunny day or not, it’s your job to boat responsibly. Whether that means you are water skiing, wake boarding or on a boat fishing, it deserves your full attention. Be on the lookout for posted signs that say what you can, and cannot do.
“There’s buoys at the mouth of them that say, ‘Slow, no wake,’ which generally means under five miles per hour,” Dekker said. “If you’re not sure what a wake looks like, look behind you, and if you see waves coming out, little white water or anything like that than you are going too fast, go ahead and slow down.”
In all cases, having an appropriate amount of life jackets is a must. You aren’t required to wear them, except while jet skiiing, you are required to have them on board.
“If you’re in a swim zone and you’re on your little inflatable dragon, you’re good to go, you don’t need a life jacket. But as soon as you go outside of that swim zone, you are considered a vessel, and so you would have to have a life jacket on there,” Dekker continued.
In 2023, as reported by South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks, law enforcement issued 490 total watercraft violations. Over 35% of them were for an insufficient amount of life jackets, while 14% were for operating vessels under the influence.
While there was no specific mention of boating related deaths in last year’s annual report, Dekker says tragic events can usually be prevented if safety measures are followed.
“Sometimes those individuals had life jackets on vessels and weren’t able to get back to the vessel to get a life jacket,” Dekker said. “Other times individuals, unfortunately didn’t even have the life jacket on their paddle board or on their kayak when it overturned.”
As a general rule, operating a boat or taking part in water activities is similar to driving a car or participating in activities on land. However, there are some differences.
“While you’re drinking on a boat, the driver can be drinking. But, they still have to be under that .08. So, the same legal limit for driving a vehicle applies when you are driving a boat,” Dekker concluded.
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