SEATTLE, Wash. — A sobering message awaited anyone out on Lake Washington on this beautiful first Saturday of summer.
"Traditionally, July Fourth is a very deadly holiday when it comes to boating," Sgt. Mark Rorvik said, who leads the King County Marine Rescue Dive Unit. "We have the highest number of water-related incidents the Fourth of July holiday."
Rorvik said he has seen it too many times. He was asked why it happens so often.
<br/> "I think it's just the summertime, warm weather," he said. "People are out recreating on the water. Whether it be in rivers, lakes, the (Puget) Sound, alcohol is usually a factor. Sometimes drugs are a factor."<br/>
Alcohol was a factor in a fatal boating accident on Lake Washington two summers ago. Renton Realtor Richard Hicks' blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit when he crashed into a crowded sailboat, killing one of its occupants.
Hicks is now serving a 2 1/2 year prison sentence.
So the King County's Marine Rescue crew, on this national Operation Dry Water weekend, was spreading the message to stay sober while operating a vessel on the water.
Longtime boater Robert Larsen of Seattle, who says he hasn't had a drink for three decades, says he has spread the same message to his young passengers.
So Rorvik gave him a yellow wrist band to "just promote having a sober operator with a boat."
"Awesome," Larsen said.
The maximum penalty for a BUI is one year in prison and a $5,000 fine — if no one dies.
The King County Marine unit is on the chopping block because of mandatory budget cuts. So this could be its last year patrolling the county's waters.