OSWEGO -- Hundreds of boats dock in Oswego for Harborfest every year. And more traffic out on the water, means law enforcement is beefing up boat patrols.
Friday night, Oswego County Sheriff Deputies were clearing boats from an off-limits area in Lake Ontario. It’s a routine stop on their patrol.
"We're watching everything,” said Deputy Thomas Murray. And there is a lot more to keep their eye on, during Harborfest. It's estimated boat traffic is 4 times busier.
“We go from a town of 17,000 and some of the past years we’ve had upwards of 250,000 people in town,” said James Roddy with the U.S. Coast Guard.
Deputies work hand in hand with the U.S. Coast Guard. Friday, 4 boats were working out on the water. Roddy says with the party going on inland, they're also watching for drinking out on the lake. "Alcohol for Harborfest is tenfold then during the normal boating season here just because everybody comes here, they take off of work,” he said.
Drinking and boating can come with a stiff penalty, Roddy says violators could face fines up to $5,000 for boating under the influence. He adds mixing booze with the sun can be a dangerous combination. "Just the sun can influence or maximize the effect of alcohol. You could test positive for being over the influence just because of the sun, the conditions, if it's wavy out, you're going to be more fatigued, your equilibrium will be off,” said Roddy.
Another common violation is not having enough life jackets on board. You need one for every person and it needs to be the right size. "That's one of the crucial roles in saving lives, we hardly let them go. If they don't have adequate life jackets, we'll be writing tickets,” said Murray.
