The May long weekend kicked off Safe Boating Week.   Arctic Radio News spoke to Lifesaving Society Manitoba on how we can enjoy our time on the water without putting ourselves and others at risk.

Doctor Christopher Love says a number of boating-related injuries and fatalities happen due to alcohol and substance use whether its prescription drugs, alcohol, cannabis, any other substance you can think of, being under the influence of intoxicants it’s irresponsible its illegal and again it causes deaths every year.  He says in Canada the numbers fluctuate year to year adding they’re usually about a third of all our drowning deaths related to boating but in Manitoba we punch above our weight when it comes to that because 58 percent of boating related drowning deaths involved alcohol or other intoxicants.

Due to the pandemic, Transport Manitoba has released guidelines for boaters to ensure physical distancing practices.

Those include taking only people in your immediate household with you on a boat and

keeping  two metres apart from other boats and people while preparing to leave shore.