Safety & etiquette — the do’s and don’ts while boating this Labor Day Weekend

LAKE MURRAY, SC (WOLO) — Labor Day Weekend will mark the end of what law enforcement refers to as the “100 Deadliest Days of Summer,” but before you head out on the water, officers want to remind everyone of the best ways to keep you and your family safe.

“We have folks that will ride on a boat in an unsafe manner, either sitting on the gunnel, back spots on the rail, or sitting on the bow. Those are some big safety issues,” says Lance Corporal Kevin Egan with the SC Department of Natural Resources.

Wearing life vests that fit are also a major concern for children and adults — and must be worn by anyone on a jet ski, or tubing or skiing behind a boat.

“Also check your other safety equipment, look at the boat’s capacity weight plate, and make sure you’re not going over that. Make sure you have your throwable, your fire extinguisher, all the other, your sound device, your registration, the safety equipment that’s required for that boat you have and different boats require different stuff,” he says.

Free safety inspections with no penalties will be available at the Lake Murray Dam Park on August 30th from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.

As usual — always have a sober skipper. Limit your drinking and no drugs while boating.

Egan also reminds everyone that jet skis and tubing, or skiing, from a boat are not allowed between sunset and sunrise. And once official sunset arrives, turn on those navigation lights.

“So make sure they’re on, make sure they’re properly working. Navigation lights are gonna be your red, green and then your all around 360 white light at the top — or what is also known as the anchor light. Don’t run the dock lights, those will flush out the red and green and make it hard to see which actual direction that boat is going,” he says.

And while safety is most important, boating etiquette at the dock also plays a key role during holiday weekends.

“Once you back your vehicle down, turn your headlights off, that way the next truck coming down with their trailer can see the ramp. It really helps out. Unload at the docks, don’t clog the docks up, unload your party, load your party, back off, come back up, same thing with your trailering, especially with these public ramps, they’re gonna be busy,” he says.

Lake-goers can expect to see officers patrolling the water all weekend.

“Make sure you have all your stuff, make sure you’re operating in a safe manner, and if you see us wave, we’ll wave back, and we just want everyone to have the safest weekend possible,” he says.