SAN ANTONIO – Texas Parks and Wildlife will be on high alert on boats at local lakes this long holiday weekend, trying to prevent a water tragedy.
Game warden Patrick True will be one of many wardens at Calaveras Lake, checking boats on the water.
“Do yourself a favor before you go out, make sure you have all these five items on your boat,” he said.
The first is a life jacket for everyone on a boat. Children under 13 must be wearing their life jacket if the boat is not docked, and make sure that the jacket is the right size for the child.
“What you need to do is look inside and it will tell you youth, it will tell you what the weight is,” he said.
Number two, have a Type IV throwable device. Number three, have a horn or a whistle on hand because, “if your horn doesn’t work or your battery goes out, make sure you have a whistle on board just in case,” True said.
Number four, have a certificate or registration card for the vessel and lastly, have a fire extinguisher.
He said while it’s legal to drink on the boat, the operator must be under the .08 legal limit required by law. He strongly urges boat operators not to drink because the heat and weather could play a role in how alcohol affects them.
And one final thing: he said make sure not to litter on lakes, rivers and parks.