As the August Long Weekend approaches and Manitoba families prepare to head out on the lakes and rivers, an advocacy group is asking them to stay sober as long as they are boating.
In a release, the Lifesaving Society and Canadian Safe Boating Council said intoxicated boating makes fatalities far more likely and is a factor in many deaths, including drownings, every year.
“We know Manitobans love to get out on the water during the summer months, and they also love relaxing while on vacation,” said Lifesaving Society Manitoba Executive Director Lynne Stefanchuk. “But think ahead and save the party until you are off the water for the day. Boating Sober means you are much less likely to become a statistic.”
According to Stefanchuk, 57 percent of boating fatalities in Manitoba between 2018 and 2022 involved alcohol consumption. Manitoba is also well above average when it comes to drownings related to intoxication.
“Combined with sun, wind, waves and the rocking motion of the boat, the effects of alcohol, prescription medication, and recreational drugs on the water can be greatly increased,” reads a release from the Lifesaving Society.
An infographic released by the Lifesaving Society and the Canadian Safe Boating Council shows drowning victims are predominantly male (about 80 percent) and roughly 66 percent of drownings happen in a lake, pond, or river. In addition, 100 percent of drownings where they know whether someone was wearing a life jacket were people not wearing any sort of life preserver.
