Coinciding with the long weekend is Safe Boating Week. Provincial police will out patrolling Wellington County’s waterways, making sure everyone is keeping safety in mind.
“This summer we’re spending a lot of time getting out on the lakes, trying to engage the public” explained Wellington County OPP Constable Joshua Cunningham. “We want to remind boaters for example to have their safety equipment with them, whether that’s a bailing bucket, signalling devices – audible or visual – things that are going to protect the occupants of the boat in case of an emergency situation.”
Cunningham says operators need to be aware of the dangers of “dead heads” or fallen trees in Wellington County’s lakes. He also urges everyone going out on the water to wear a life jacket.
“We’ve had drownings in the past few years in our lakes where many times a life jacket may have changed that situation quite dramatically,” said Cunningham. “We want to reduce the amount of deaths on our waterways and … people using like jackets would change that for us.”
Safe Boating Week runs from May 14th to 20th.
