Officials stress safety for boaters this holiday weekend

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- Officials and the U.S. Coast Guard are advising boaters to follow all safety instructions and obey the law before taking to the water this Columbus Day weekend.

Officials held a news conference at the U.S. Coast Office Thursday morning and their message to boaters was plain and simple, "Obey the law or you will be arrested."

Coast Guard officials are warning boaters to follow the designated speed zones that will be enforced Columbus Day weekend. "We want to stress safety this weekend, and I hope everyone has a good time but look out for one another," said U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant John Borbett. "There's also going to be a speed zone just like we had last year, enforced from the featherbeds up to the Rickenbacker Bridge."

Emergency crews expect thousands of boaters in Biscayne Bay for the holiday weekend, especially in Elliot Key Harbor. "Within that area, the entire zone is a slow speed zone, and within that area, no more then five vessels can raft together, and they have to maintain a minimum 100 feet between one raft and the other," said Biscayne National Park Chief Ranger Didier Carod.

Authorities say they are not going to put up with any nonsense. "Every party you're going to find that one jerk that likes to drink a little bit, that likes to cause havoc for law enforcement," said Jorge Pino of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Officials are also advising swimmers to be cautious. "If you're not sure about your swimming abilities, it's probably not a good idea to get too far from your boat if that's what you're going to be doing during this weekend because the wind and current might drift you far from your vessel," said Carod.

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