Lake Lanier patrollers keep boaters in line

It helps to have a sense of humor when your job is to patrol Lake Lanier.

You could be wrangling with a beer-guzzling kneeboarder one minute and investigating a drowning the next. Or you could simply be interacting with friendly lakeside residents.

Enlarge this image

Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

Department of Natural Resources Cpl. Eric Sanders (left) and Boating Safety Ranger Mark Stephens patrol Lake Lanier.

Enlarge this image

Curtis Compton/ccompton@ajc.com

In the leadup to July Fourth, patrollers were emphasizing boating safety, checking to make sure crafts had enough lifejackets and met other safety rules.

A look at lake accidents
• Watercraft accidents:156, 2008; 50*, 2009
• Injuries: 107, 2008; 42*, 2009
• Boating fatalities: 13, 2008; 3*, 2009
• Drownings: 43, 2008; 16*, 2009 • Boating under the influence citations: 215, 2008; 78*, 2009
* -- As of June 30, 2009
Source: Georgia Department of Natural Resources

About the rules
For information about regulations, registration and licensing for boaters, fishers and other recreationists, visit Georgia Wildlife or call 1-800-366-2661.

Recent headlines:

[an error occurred while processing this directive]    • Metro and state news

Cpl. Eric Sanders and Boating Safety Ranger Mark Stephens are two of the state Department of Natural Resources officers tasked with maintaining safety on the 38,000-acre reservoir.

State DNR officers handle law enforcement on all of Georgia’s lakes.

“There have been funny times, nail-biting times, scary times,” Sanders said.

Then again, he said, “It may be the most boring day.”

The officers were putting an emphasis on boating safety last week as they headed into the busy Fourth of July holiday.

“This’ll be a good one to stop right here,” Sanders said as he guided his boat alongside a crowded pontoon boat.

The passengers were attending a 49th birthday bash for their friend, Joe Baker.

All party-goers were jovial as they procured the boat rental paperwork and held up life jackets for the officers to count. Everything was in order, so the officers bid them a friendly farewell.

“Don’t get your chips soggy, now,” Sanders said, flashing a grin.

An encounter with state DNR officers is likely to be good-natured if fun-seekers are playing it safe. But if someone is breaking the law, Stephens and Sanders can become unapologetic party crashers.

A person suspected of boating under the influence may be asked to undergo field sobriety evaluation that’s a little different from those performed on the roadside. It could involve asking the suspect to recite the ABCs or do something as deceptively simple as donning a life jacket.

“We’ve had them put it on backwards or inside out,” Sanders said.

State DNR officers have issued 78 citations for boating under the influence in Georgia this year.

Officers also write citations to curtail other behavior that puts recreationists at risk. A man was cited last week for towing a skier without a spotter or wide-angle mirror in a cove where skiing was not permitted.

Such activities on the lake can result in injuries or even drowning. Stephens has seen untold numbers of people with broken bones and missing teeth, and those are the lucky ones.

“There’s about 200 bodies in Lanier that have never been found,” Stephens said.

At the Holiday Marina about three years ago, a man riding a stolen jet ski collided with a boat.

By the time authorities got there, the only trace of him was a pair of flip-flops floating on the surface, Stephens said.

The complaints that officers dread the most are the 2 a.m. calls about missing persons. Finding a boater lost in the dark in the maze of coves is almost like finding a needle in a haystack.

One of the calls that most affected Stephens was when he tracked down a boat that went missing last year near Six Mile Creek in Forsyth County. Two mothers and their children had gone out for a sunset ride and lost their bearings. Relief flooded over their families when Stephens towed the boat to safety.

“That’s one of the few times that it worked out, you know,” Stephens said. “It made all that we do worth it.”