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Drinking while boating demands attention
Randy Blaser
Updated: August 24, 2012 12:49PM
Thirty years ago, it wasn’t that unusual, even in polite company, to hear someone say, “I’ll have one more for the road.”
Frank Sinatra even sang about it.
Today, few adults would consider taking a drink and then taking a drive. Most responsible adults know that
drinking and driving don’t mix. Someone could get killed.
Society just doesn’t tolerate it.
But there is a place where having a drink and taking a ride seems to be considered just part of summer fun. It’s no big deal. It’s an acceptable social norm.
Out there – on the water and in a boat – having a drink is akin to relaxing with a beer and sitting on a lawn chair on your deck.
That attitude has got to change. It’s time we all grew up and realized that drinking and boating don’t mix. It’s time society takes as hard a stance on drinking on the water as it does with drinking and driving.
Need proof?
Just take a good, hard look at what happened to 10-year-old Tony Borcia of Libertyville, as sweet a boy as 10-year-olds can be. He was tubing on Petite Lake in late July, something people who love the water have been doing on the Chain O’ Lakes for ages.
Tony fell off the tube, but before his dad could turn the family boat around and pick up Tony, he was hit by a speedboat.
Tony was wearing a bright red life jacket and was frantically waving his arms. Anyone who has fallen while skiing or tubing knows that vulnerable feeling of being in the water and maybe not being seen by a boater.
Apparently, Tony wasn’t seen. Turns out the man driving the boat identified as the one that hit Tony has been charged with driving his boat under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.
Tony never had a chance. His dad had to call his mom and tell her their dear boy was dead.
I love the water and boating as much as the next guy. I grew up on the Chain – boating, water skiing, swimming and fishing. I wouldn’t go near those lakes on the weekend today.
It’s time we all grew up. We can no longer tolerate drinking and boating.
What happened to Tony should never happen again. ~.
