If you’re boating on Okanagan Lake this summer, there’s a chance that you’ll get pulled over.
Two RCMP patrol boats are out on the water on weekends and random weekdays until Labour Day, and are conducting anywhere between 20 to 30 random inspections during each patrol.
Marine Enforcement Constable Phillip Boissonneault says the most common thing that people get ticketed for on the Lake is forgetting the essentials.
“We do encounter a lot of people who don’t have life jackets on board, mostly with stand-up paddleboards, kayaks, and canoes,” says Boissonneault. “All of those types of boats have to have a personal flotation device for each person on board, so we do order them to shore to get a PFD.”
The second thing that could get you in trouble on the Lake is illegally carrying alcohol on your boat, which could also send you straight back to the shore.
“Smaller boats cannot have alcohol on board,” says Boissonneault. “In order to have alcohol on board the boat, the provisions of the Liquor Act require you to have permanent bathroom facilities, permanent kitchen facilities, and a permanent sleeping accommodation on the boat.”
The boat must also be stopped and anchored at a dock while alcohol is on board.
The minimum penalty for illegally having open alcohol on a boat is a $200 fine, while the penalties for operating a boat while intoxicated are the same as when you drink and drive in BC.
Police made only one arrest on the Lake so far this season after an intoxicated man stole a yacht at the Downtown Marina last month.