Friday, August 20, 1999
Boaters cautious in wake of deaths
River enforcement to be stepped up
BY EARNEST WINSTON and ERIN GIBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Doug Dopp drinks non-alcoholic beer before steering his houseboat to Riverbend for the Buffett concert.
(Thomas E. Witte photo
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With a straw hat on his head and a lei around his neck, Doug Dopp of Mason set off for Riverbend Thursday night with some paraphernalia landlocked Parrotheads didn't have: life jackets and fire extinguishers.
The equipment was required for Mr. Dopp, his wife, daughter and five friends who traveled to the Jimmy Buffett concert aboard the houseboat they dock at Dayton's Watertown Yacht Club.
Monday's fatal boat wreck near the club kept safety a priority on the Ohio River. Police are stepping up enforcement of boating safety laws, and boaters themselves are cautious. Mr. Dopp planned ahead to be his crew's designated driver, something law-enforcement officials recommend.
“I'm on the O'Douls,” he said, showing a can of the non-alcoholic brew.
Last year, Sam Carter of Mason, listened to Jimmy Buffett and watched Labor Day fireworks from the river. Police drove up in boats and boarded the houseboat while they were there.
Officers asked to see life jackets, boat licenses and the designated driver, Mrs. Carter said. She expected the same during the concert.
“They take care of people,” Mr. Dopp said. “They don't let you get too crazy, but they let you have fun.”
Boaters will see more enforcement along the Ohio River during the second Buffett concert at Riverbend Saturday, with special attention being paid to speeders and drunken drivers.
On Monday, a boat collision claimed three lives and injured two others off Dayton. Empty and full beer cans were found in one of the boats.
Ohio and Kentucky authorities say they will have more people policing the Ohio River Labor Day weekend. Among other things, Ohio officials will be checking forsafety equipment and talking to boaters about safety.
“The key is that when we're out there it definitely does help maintain order,” Mr. Evans said. “There will be (more of) a presence on the water from a variety of agencies, as there usually is.”
Tristate boaters and marina owners welcome increased patrols.
“There's just too much to lose to drive drunk,” Mr. Dopp said, citing fines, license suspension, arrest, loss of insurance and the threat of losing a boat — let alone a life.
Fred Crawford, who has owned Aquaramp Marina in Fort Thomas for 40 years, said boaters are in a “mad rush” after leaving Riverbend concerts.
“When the concert is over, people want to get out and run their boat in the river,” he said. “People are always in a rush. They're flying up and down the river trying to get a spot.”
Mrs. Carter said the river gets scary after concerts, when boaters race back to a dock or marina. It's worse after Labor Day fireworks, when the most boats are on the river, she said.
Randy Reichelderfer, owner of the California Yacht Club in Ohio, said law enforcement on the river must increase.
“The law enforcement in this area — somebody needs to step up to the plate and do the job,” said Mr. Reichelderfer. “Somebody needs to say, "Where are you guys?'”
On Labor Day weekend, all of Kentucky's 145 or so officers will patrol the state's waterways, said Maj. Charles Browning of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Law Enforcement Division.
“We ask everybody to be cautious. This is the last holiday weekend of the year,” he said.
John Lucas, a conservation officer in Brookville, Ind., said officials will increase manpower on the Ohio River for Labor Day. In addition to regular patrol, some officers will look specifically for drunken boaters.
His advice: “Don't drink and boat. Have a designated driver. I think your number one factor in boating accidents is awareness and, of course, if you're intoxicated your awareness is drastically cut in half.”
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