Labor Day weekend means a busy couple of days on Lake Lanier, the last weekend for some folks to spend on the lake and a time to keep safety measures in mind to ensure a successful holiday.
As of July, there have been 12 deaths reported on Lake Lanier for 2019, and with Labor Day weekend approaching, that number could increase in the next couple of days.
Jennifer Flowers, the executive director at Lake Lanier Association, urges people to follow a handful of basic safety tips to keep Lake Lanier and its visitors safe this holiday weekend.
People who find themselves behind the wheel of a watercraft should remain observant, Flowers said. There are courtesy rules on the lake that help keep friends, families and individuals safe, like the 100-foot rule.
“You want to make sure your staying 100 feet away from other boats,” Flowers said. “Remember to boat defensively not knowing what other boats are going to do.”
For people who are not boat owners or regulars on the lake, it’s important to know boating follows the same rules of the road, Flowers said. Drivers will want to keep to the right-hand side of the water when riding around the lake, but also will want to keep an eye on the potential boaters who do not follow this courtesy rule, she said.
Most deaths that occur on the water involve drowning, and acccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is the fifth leading cause of injury death in the country. A good rule of thumb is to keep a floatation device nearby, Flowers said.
“Even really good swimmers can get into trouble. All it takes is one gulp of water and somebody can panic, and something can happen,” she said.
Flowers recommended people always wear life jackets, whether they are riding on a boat or taking a swim. The Army Corps of Engineers has put efforts toward 18 life jacket stations around the lake where people can borrow jackets if they do not own one, she said.
“I know it’s fun to try to swim to the other side of a cove or to swim to an island, but it’s a lot further away than people think it is, so it’s really easy to get into trouble that way,” Flowers said. “Take a floatation device with you, even if you don’t put it on all the way.”
Although Lake Lanier is just that, a lake, the body of water contains currents that will pull in swimmers. If people find themselves in a bad situation while swimming and begin to panic, remain calm, focused and try to get someone’s attention, Flowers said.
During the last three-day weekend of 2019, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources reported 28 BUIs across the state, four of which were on Lake Lanier.
“People need to remember that alcohol, boating and swimming don’t mix,” Flowers said.
If the driver of the boat would not operate a vehicle, they should not operate a boat.
The last element to keep in mind while spending the weekend on the lake is nighttime safety. The LLA has placed more than 250 solar lights on safety buoys across the lake, but that doesn’t mean the lights don’t malfunction every once in a while, Flowers said.
“Because you can’t really see where you’re going, look out for those hazards and try to figure out where you are. Make sure you are boating around slowly, paying attention to those around you and have a light on your boat,” she said.
Flowers wants people to be reminded to take their time on the lake this weekend, especially at nighttime, because you move more quickly on the water than it seems.
