Holiday crowds head for the water, authorities crack down on drunk boating

With holiday travel in full effect Friday afternoon, traffic slowed to a crawl on Highway 101 approaching Santa Rosa, and it was also congested on a much shorter byway leading straight into the water at Lake Sonoma.

Boaters getting an early start on the weekend leading into the July Fourth holiday crowded the public boat ramp at the brimful reservoir behind Warm Springs Dam northeast of Healdsburg, said Capt. Antony Billes of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

“It’s not a problem as long as we all have a little bit of patience,” he said.

Army Corps park rangers, along with marine law enforcement officers throughout California and across the nation, also hope water lovers will use sound judgment and forgo boating under the influence of intoxicants as they celebrate the nation’s 241st birthday.

The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office is stepping up patrols on Lake Sonoma focused on BUI enforcement, and authorities will also be on the water at Lake Mendocino near Ukiah and on land at two boat ramps at Bodega Bay.

It’s part of Operation Dry Water, an oddly named national law enforcement campaign aimed at curbing damage done around the Fourth of July, “a holiday unfortunately known for drinking and boating, and deadly accidents,” according to a California State Parks announcement.

There were 588 recreational boating accidents last year in California, with 266 injuries and 50 fatalities. Alcohol was a contributing factor in 40 percent of the deaths in which testing was conducted, the parks department said.

The risks were illustrated last weekend, when a 26-year-old Ukiah man was killed in a collision involving two boats at Lake Mendocino that had investigators looking at whether alcohol was involved, along with speed and darkness.

Nearly 6,200 law officers were engaged in Operation Dry Water nationwide last July Fourth weekend, making contact with 131,054 boaters, issuing 18,569 citations and safety warnings and making 367 BUI arrests for drugs and alcohol.

It’s against California law to operate a boat or water ski with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more, the same limit that applies to driving a motor vehicle.

But intoxication is also dangerous for people riding in boats, who can “easily fall overboard, swim near the propeller” or move in ways that cause boats to capsize, said Lynn Sadler, deputy director of the state Division of Boating and Waterways.

Billes said it looks like a “phenomenally busy” four-day weekend at Lake Sonoma, where all 96 sites at Liberty Glen Campground and the 110 boat-in campsites are reserved.

The lake makes an ideal refuge in hot weather, as the cold body of water chills the air above it, he said.

The Sheriff’s Office, which operates two patrol boats and two jet skis, will have “an increased presence” on Lake Sonoma through Sunday night, spokeswoman Misti Harris said.

The Army Corps will put two or three boats on the water, with rangers focused on educating the public about safety but also capable of calling on the sheriff’s patrol if they spot problems with alcohol or other intoxicants, Billes said.

The corps also will patrol Lake Mendocino with a 21-foot water jet-propelled boat, a Boston Whaler and a jet ski, said Derrick Dunlap, deputy chief of the operations and readiness for the corps’ San Francisco Division.

At Bodega Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard station will send members out to conduct random safety inspections on boats at the launch ramps at Westside and Doran regional parks.

Inspectors will also deal with alcohol “as a talking point,” Petty Officer John Higgins said.

Most boaters heading out onto the Pacific Ocean are going after fish and “are not really out there to party and get too intoxicated,” he said.

Getting busted for what the state calls “buzzed boating” can have serious consequences, with penalties up to six months in jail and/or fines up to $1,000 for a first offense.

Vessels may also be impounded, officials said.

You can reach Staff Writer Guy Kovner at 707-521-5457 or guy.kovner@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @guykovner.