HARRISON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — "It's just a good time. It's relaxing," Brian Barthlow said as he and his daughter and other relatives loaded a boat with everything from snacks to life jackets in preparation for a long, lazy afternoon on Lake St. Clair Monday.
"Look out for other boaters. Make sure the little ones got their life vests on," Barthlow said, and they pushed off.
Barthlow and his family are some of those boaters that deputies with the Macomb County Sheriff's Office Marine Division will be looking to keep safe by identifying other boaters who may be disruptive.
"First and foremost, we want everyone to have a good time out here and enjoy themselves on Lake St. Clair. So, we're looking at people who are disrupting that for other boaters," Lt. Gary Wiegand said.
Wiegand said one of the main issues they see on the water is boaters who forget about the 100-foot rule.
"If you're within 100 feet of another boat, a dock, a shoreline, a person in the water or a marked swimming area, you're supposed to be going at a slow, no wake speed," Wiegand told 7 Action News. "So it's the boats that are driving fast in close proximity to those things — that's definitely a red flag for us."
Wiegand also reminds boaters that while passengers can consume alcohol, the captain of the boat has to stay sober.
"You're responsible for everybody on board," he said.
"When we stop you, our goal is just to educate you and talk to you," Wiegand said. "If the person on the other end of that traffic stop is courteous, gives the deputy the time of day to listen to them and understand what they may have been doing wrong, we're good with just a verbal warning and telling people, hey, this is the correct behavior. We're not out here to ruin somebody's weekend and we're not looking to write a lot of tickets."
