Concerns warm weather could lead to tragedy on the water

The warm weather blanketing our region had a lot of people heading out onto the water.

That prompted Marine and Harbor Patrols around the Puget Sound area to head out too, to make sure the warm-weather fun wasn’t interrupted by tragedy.

Getting out onto the water proved irresistible on this beautiful April day.

And that is why the Mercer Island Police Marine Patrol was on Lake Washington to ensure this unseasonably warm day does not end with someone not living to see another one.

“We’re just going to come up alongside you,” Cpl. David Herzog said as he approached a group of boaters. “Talk to you for a minute. See how your day is.”

Herzog isn’t giving out any tickets on this day. He’s just offering a quick boating safety inspection to make sure those on board remain safe.

“How about your fire extinguisher?” he asked.

The boater eventually found a fire extinguisher, but it was not the proper one.

“Yeah, it looks like it’s just for like for combustible,” Herzog told him. “You gotta have one for electrical and everything like that, too.”

It is a good guess that most people headed out onto the water for the first time in a long time.

Terry Coleman was putting his boat into Lake Washington for the first time, going out all alone.

The Mill Creek man said he had the equipment.

“I do,” he said, “life jacket, everything. I’m not going to be going in the water. I’m just going to be cruising around today.”

Good thing. Herzog estimates the water temperature could be in the 40s or low 50s. Anyone who ends up in the water could get into trouble very quickly.

“You could actually put your body in like a shock because once you jump in the water, it causes you to take a deep breath. And if you’re underwater when it causes you to take a deep breath, it can cause panic, choking. And a lot of time, that’s how some of our drownings happen.”

There is so much that can get in the way of a good time. Fallen logs adrift in the lake can also be hazardous. In fact, if a boat collides with a log, Herzog says the log will win.

Still, he says have fun but be safe, too.

Cox Media Group