With Memorial Day weekend approaching fast, this is often the first time that families are headed to the lake and ready to hit the water for some relaxation, fishing, tubing, and other water fun. Of course this all sounds great and enjoyable but we need to keep water safety in mind. We spoke with Tom Brault from the Polk County Sheriffs office about ways to ensure you are being safe while enjoying the many waterways Minnesota has to offer.
What areas does the Polk County Sheriff’s Office patrol? “The waterways of Polk County, including any rivers, as well as ponds, lakes, and streams,” says Brault. “As part of that, we have a boat and water fleet that we use to patrol several lakes in the county. We are primarily on Union, Maple, and Cross Lake, but there is also Sarah. We’ve been on other small lakes, Sand Hill Lake and Spring Lake down by Lengby.”
What are some things the Sheriff’s office will look for while patrolling the lakes? “One of the things we look for is life jackets, that’s one of the biggest things, says Brault. “Whether or not you are required to, we encourage everyone to wear a life jacket. If you were to get into some kind of accident or something and be knocked unconscious in the water, that life jacket will save your life.” The law requires that any children under 10 years of age, anyone operating a personal watercraft, that would be like a jet ski and then persons being towed, so if you are skiing, or tubing, things like that, you are required to wear a life jacket no matter what your age is.”
If you are on a boat or pontoon, there are other things that are required to have on board, as well as some that you might want to keep on board for emergencies. “Minnesota requires a throwable PFD (Personal Floatation Device) and a fire extinguisher,” says Brault. “First Aid kits and things like that are always advisable, but not necessarily required by law.”
Most of us make sure to let someone know where we are headed when we leave the house and when we will be back. This is highly recommended as well if you are headed out on the water. “We always encourage people to let others know where you are going and when you are going. So, say you are going fishing by yourself on a boat, you never know what could happen,” says Brault. “It’s always good to have a loved one or somebody know, hey, I’m going out on this lake, I should be back around, whatever time.” Brault says that it’s nice that we can keep each other a little better updated these days with the use of cell phones.
Being out on a boat, it is crucial to keep aware of your surroundings. Make sure that you are not distracted. “Keep the distractions down to a minimum, since I mentioned cell phones, trying to stay alert on the water so you are never, you never know, especially when some of our busier lakes like Maple and Union, there are people in the water a lot swimming,” says Brault. “Even though it might not be a marked swimming area, they may be out paddle boarding, kayaking, and things like that. So, just make sure you are aware of your surroundings.”
Brault says that some of the biggest enforcement stops that they have had in past years are on the personal watercrafts, usually because they are going within 150 feet of the shore. If you are on a personal watercraft, you cannot go within 150 feet of a dock or a swimming area when operating under power. “That is one of our most common stops, the personal watercrafts, going out and whipping 360’s and doing right next to a shore or dock,” says Brault. “We will stop people for that and cite them. It’s not only erosion of the beach and everything else, but the safety of the people that are there and the docks, your equipment and boats that are tied up to the docks are getting jostled and possibly doing damage.”
Riding on the outside of the boat while it is under power is illegal and is regularly a ticketed offense. Brault says that even if the factory has a nice pad made for it, when it’s under power, you need to be inside the craft.
Personal watercrafts, such as Jet Skis, have restricted times of operation that need to be adhered to. “The restricted times of operation are from 9:00 a.m. to one hour before sunset,” says Brault. “We have been pretty lenient with that with people, especially on the one hour before sunset, because people typically don’t have a watch with them. We are still pretty understanding of this, but also want to enforce that one hour before sunset, you need to be in and off that personal watercraft.” Other things to be mindful of with personal watercraft are that it is the law that any operator under the age of 18 must have a Water Safety Certificate. Anyone who is under the age of 13 is not permitted to operate a personal watercraft by themselves. Once the child is 13 years of age, there must be someone 21 years of age or older on board, or they must have a Water Safety Certificate and still be visible by somebody who is over 21. Between the ages of 14 and 17, kids can have a certificate or have someone on board, and it is no longer required that they be visible by someone 21 or older.
What are the restrictions, then, for driving a boat? “For regular watercraft, a 25 hp or less engine, there is no age restriction. Anyone can operate that,” says Brault. “From 12 years and up, if it’s 25 hp or higher, they must have an operator’s permit or at least someone 21 years of age on board within immediate reach of the controls.”
Alcohol is known to be involved in weekend festivities, and Memorial Day weekend is no exception. “Drinking and boating, you see it all the time, and you wonder, why is that guy operating a boat, holding a beer?” says Brault. “There is no open bottle law for boating. However, it is still illegal to operate a watercraft or motor vehicle while intoxicated. The last couple of years, our boating DUIs have been up. We’ve had a few, and for the safety of everybody, don’t be intoxicated while boating.”
Brault says that while it is not illegal, the Sheriff’s Deputies have been trained to see signs of it on the water. A beer or two may not cause any problems, but Brault says it’s likely that they will recognize the signs, and you will be picked up.
So, get out there and make memories this Memorial Weekend and all summer long. Just remember, things can change quickly if we don’t make good, safe choices. “Stay safe, we want everyone out there having fun,” says Brault. “We should have deputies out patrolling here shortly; Memorial Day is kind of our kick-off, it seems like. Lake traffic gets a lot busier and kids are out of school, so stay safe and call us if there are any questions or anything you need.”