Safety officials suggest anyone planning on getting out on the water this Memorial Day weekend to make sure they have a proper life jacket. Sixteen people died last year in Virginia who weren’t wearing proper safety gear.
The air was brisk and the water clear on Claytor Lake on the patrol boat, as Sergeant John Koloda with the Department of Wildlife Resources handed me a slim, olive-green life vest. It’s an inflatable life jacket—a yellow tab can be pulled to inflate the vest if it’s needed. It feels less bulky than the neon orange jacket I usually wear.
“You almost forget you have it on,” Koloda said. "They’re not so cumbersome. And it makes people wear them the whole time they’re on the boat.”
This is National Safe Boating Week, and Koloda’s job, in part, is to remind boaters that according to Virginia law, everyone on board a boat should be wearing a life jacket, or have one nearby. Most public marinas have life jackets to borrow. Children under 13 should wear a life jacket at all times.
“If you’re able to take them and let them pick out their own life jacket, their favorite color or superhero, that will make them want to wear it that much more,” Koloda said.
On this day, just before the Memorial weekend rush, the water was quiet. A mom and two kids were kayaking, all suited with life vests.
As the patrol boat accelerated, we passed a sandy beach that will soon be filled with swimmers. Trees along the lake front have been cleared of mud and trash brought here last fall by Hurricane Helene. The Army Corps of Engineers even cleared debris that had sunk to the bottom of the lake.
Ron Wood, also with DWR, said volunteers and several agencies spent months clearing debris from the lake following Hurricane Helene. “Claytor Lake looks a lot better than what it did,” Wood said.
Wood warned that, despite the cleanup debris could still end up in any lake or river, and he advised boaters to always keep an eye out for objects in or beneath the water. He added that if you are drinking alcohol, make sure you have a designated sober operator for your boat, and never operate a boat while intoxicated. The same blood alcohol limits apply as with driving on the road.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
