Page 58 - Discover Fall 2020
P. 58
Safety First
Residents and visitors of Smith summer: a drowning, and one involving
Mountain Lake PLEASE give your wake skiing. We have also had a boat
Water Safety Council a listen. We catch fire while underway, with the
would truly rather be talking with you occupants safely abandoning the vessel
about the joys and sustainment of safe before it exploded.
water sport recreation on the lake, but
The Virginia Department of
this has been a rough summer for Water
Wildlife Resources has seen a jump in
Safety.
reportable incidents and injuries. As
In our Summer Discover SML we observed earlier this spring, the use
“The Little People” article, we laid out of SML is on a record-setting pace. The
the downward safety trends that we volume of rental occupancies and water
saw in 2019, and highlighted the near- craft rentals is unmatched as of the first
misses, incidents, and recommendations of August, with August and September
to keep all on the water safe regardless yet to unfold in the boating season as we
of watercraft types or activities. The sad go to publication.
truth is that we are living out our fears.
With this volume of activity
We have had two fatalities to date this
and a steep increase in the number of
56 Discover Smith Mountain Lake FALL 2020
