Booze, Boats Don’t Mix

Water safety

Drinking while boating should be considered as dangerous as drinking and driving, particularly because of stress factors such as prolonged exposure to sun and wind, noise, vibration and boat motion. “Boater’s fatigue” allows reaction time almost as much as if a boater is legally drunk. Even one drink added to fatigue factors can impair judgment.

Boating while intoxicated also is illegal. The U.S. Coast Guard, which endorses federal law, sets a blood alcohol level of .10 percent as legal intoxication. A boat operator with a blood alcohol concentration above that level is 10 times more likely to be killed in a boating accident than a boater with a level of zero.