On The Waterfront Kootenai County Deputies Take To The Lakes To Battle Boating Lawbreakers

From behind the helm of a 28-foot rescue boat, Sgt. Dan Soumas shook his head as he watched two personal watercraft speed across Lake Coeur d’Alene Saturday.

The small crafts zipped dangerously close to a boat as it cruised along the sunny water. They then plowed through its wake so they could fly into the air.

“Personal watercraft are one of the worst problems we have,” Soumas said as he headed toward the offenders. “They like to zoom by people’s docks or jump the boat wakes. It’s really dangerous.”

Memorial Day weekend is traditionally the start of the boating season. Saturday was the first day this season Kootenai County Sheriff’s marine deputies were out in full force.

Soumas and Deputy Andy Boyle spent the day scanning the lake with binoculars, looking for drunken boaters, obnoxious Jet Skiers, or anyone who might need a hand.

“You can just look and see how busy the lake is and this isn’t even peak season,” Soumas said, as powerboats, sailboats and personal watercraft jockeyed their way into and out of the Third Street boat launch.

In response to a growing number of boaters in Kootenai County, the sheriff’s department added two deputies to the marine force this summer.

Twelve deputies now patrol the county’s 17 lakes and 54 miles of river.

“It’s getting to be more and more boaters every year,” Ilene Moss, of Coeur d’Alene, said from her boat Saturday. She has boated for 10 years on Lake Coeur d’Alene. “We see too many people out here making stupid mistakes.”

Soumas estimated that more than 2,000 boaters pack Lake Coeur d’Alene on the weekends. It’s the marine deputies’ job to keep the waters safe as droves of tourists and locals flock to the lake in search of sun and water fun.”We’re looking at a lot of folks on the water who are taking their boats on their maiden voyage,” Soumas said, explaining that at the beginning of the summer many people are just learning the rules of the water.

Last year, 23 people were arrested for boating under the influence in Idaho. Twenty of those were arrested in Kootenai County, he said.

So far this year the sheriff’s department has handled seven boating accidents. One man drowned when a boat sank on Killarney Lake. He was drunk at the time.

Although drunken boating is a primary concern, Soumas said some personal watercraft users have been causing big headaches not only for the deputies but for other boaters.

He and Boyle pulled along side Craig Jones’ personal watercraft Saturday.

“In the five minutes I’ve watched you guys I’ve saw six violations,” Soumas told the Coeur d’Alene man. “You’re endangering lives by the way you operate your vessel.”

According to a county ordinance, no watercraft is supposed to come within 100 feet of any other boat or other fixture in the water unless they are going slow enough to leave no wake.

Jones was speeding too close to another boat, Soumas told him.

Jones, who rents personal watercraft, insisted he was just trying to catch up to a couple of his renters to stop them from jumping over boat wakes and behaving recklessly.

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