7830-R2_LSLA_2021_WinetrNewsletter_Web

Safety Patrol Program 2021 From Sharon Lamontagne, Director

The summer of 2021 was a success! NO ACCIDENTS were reported on Little Sebago Lake, and that is the whole point of this program. Thank you to all who are diligent enough to learn the laws and regulations and consistently follow them. They have been signed into law for a reason. They save lives! We had the wardens here a total of 23 times and 702 boats were checked. 38 citations and 48 warnings were issued, the majority of which were for PFD violations. Other violations included headway speed, registration issues, fishing without a license and towing without an observer. It is difficult for us to determine who on the lake isn’t getting the message that wearing life jackets for those under 11 is mandatory and that we need at least one PFD in the boat for every adult. We have decided that we will focus on this message next year, it is a pretty simple message. Life preservers are mandatory and will save lives in an emergency. We have seen a huge increase in the number of rental properties on the lake and maybe most of these warnings and citations are issued to new folks who just don’t know the law. Our focus next year will be to reach out to these weekly vacationers and educate them before they jump into that rental boat. We will spend the winter brainstorming on how best to reach out to them. Possible solutions include a registry for owners, contacting rental agencies, marinas, road associations and more. The Safety Patrol boat was out all summer long, logging in a total of 585 hours on the water. The main goal of this boat is to cruise the perimeter of the lake each shift, observe boating behaviors, educate where and when we can and help out when needed. We jump started and or towed many boats this year and

are happy to do so if we are out on the water and come across a distressed vessel. We were also at the public boat launch Saturday and Sunday mornings to meet and greet newcomers to the lake. We offered educational materials, life preservers if needed, reminders of registration and fishing license requirements, maps and advice. Trespassing onto private islands and beaches is still an issue and we will continue to educate and advise those that we see. All and all it was a great summer and we thank you for all of the friendly waves, support and acknowledgments. I want to thank Roger Leblanc for all of his help managing the team and the boat. And of course, a big thank you to our drivers John and Susan Bernier, Katie Martin, Steve and Gwen Sayian, Dale Brunell, Jeff Viola and Peter Bailey. We will be adding extra shifts next summer and will be looking for one or two more drivers. If you are at all interested, please reach out to me and I will give you more information. See you all next summer and remember SAFETY IS NO ACCIDENT.

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