boating safety

UPDATE 8/11/20: A 28-year-old man from Napa, California has been identified as the person who died in a tragic boat incident off shore from South Lake Tahoe on Monday. The South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) Marine unit responded along with South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue, Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District and the U.S. Coast Guard.

When the call came in around 3:40 p.m., two men were in the water and a third was inside a rental boat. One of the men, David Castorena, had a major injury to his leg and he as not wearing a personal floatation device, or PFD.

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – New boating safety programs are coming online at Lake Tahoe this summer, according to the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA).

Additional enforcement of no-wake zones and excessive boat noise under TRPA’s Shoreline Program are two measures being taken to protect the lake and non-motorized watercraft and swimmers. Boat inspections fees are also being adjusted for the first time in seven years to better safeguard the lake from aquatic invasive species, and sticker fees now include a $12 fee as part of the Shoreline Program.

The Tahoe Windjammer’s Yacht Club is having its annual Community Sailing Clinic on July 14th. This event includes classroom instruction on basic sailing and boating safety in the morning and on-the-water instruction as a guest on a member’s sailboat in the afternoon. The clinic is open to men and women of all experience levels. We try to match up participants to boats according to their abilities and interests to ensure the best sailing experience. If you have wanted to try sailing and haven’t had the opportunity, this is a great way to get the feel of it.

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The use of life jackets saves lives, especially on Lake Tahoe where Cold Water Shock can kill a person in minutes.

It has been a deadly year on the lake, and the South Lake Tahoe Fire Rescue (SLTFR) department has started a new program to help save lives in the future.

California State Parks Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) has partnered with SLTFR in making life jackets available to the public on a loan basis. They have infant, child and adult sizes.

To increase safety on not only Lake Tahoe, but on waterways across the state, operators of motorized vessels will soon be required to possess a California Boater Card. The first group to fall into this category, those 20 years of age or younger, must have a card by January 1, 2018 with other age groups added annually.

Those renting boats will not be required to get a card, nor will those in the state less than 60 days or holding a commercial fishing license.

A San Francisco woman died on the South Fork of the American River near Kyburz while rafting on Saturday, July 9.

Elaine Yi Mau, 32, was camping at the China Flat Campground with friends when they took rafts into the nearby river. At 4:09 p.m., the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office was told of a rafting accident involving Mau. She had been on a raft with someone who fell off, and when he surfaced, Mau was gone.

National Safe Boating Week is May 21-27, 2016 and is the launch of the 2016 North American Safe Boating Campaign. This yearlong campaign promotes safe and responsible boating and the value of voluntary, consistent life jacket wear by recreational boaters through the national theme, Wear It!

The local US Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11-04 in South Lake Tahoe is promoting the Wear It! campaign and hopes it will remind boaters of the importance of boating safely, including consistent life jacket wear, boating sober, knowing navigational rules and having a proper lookout.