In follow up to our previous post regarding boating and lake hazards we thought we would share with you a terrific website for those who are thinking of boating or swimming Lake Norman.

The Lake Norman Marine Commission website offers all sorts of safety tips and safety courses for all lake recreations. As you can see from visiting the same, general and recognized specific lake hazards are posted and updated. We highly recommend this one be “flagged” as a favorite.

A recent news article notes that 75% of all boaters have never participated in a boater safety class. This is unfortunate and given that serious mishaps can and do occur frequently on the lake and many can be avoided by understand and following basic boater safety tips and navigational rules.

By way of example, some folks still can’t understand that (like cars on the roadway) under navigational rules boaters pass each other “port to port”, the left-side of each vessel closest to each other, thus passing to the right. Also, sailboats and non-motorized vessels (rowboats, kayaks, etc) have the right of way over the more maneuverable power boat, as logic would dictate.

As can be seen safety courses are posted and offered frequently by the commission to those interested.

It does amaze me when boating on the lake how many folks whip through the underpasses (there are more than 20 bridges on Lake Norman) and completely disregard the no-wake signs and law that regulate these areas. Underpasses, like intersections on the roadways are points of convergence and thus offer a much greater risk of collision with other vessels and/or bridge abutments, overhead beams and structures. It’s no coincident that the marine patrol and other regulating authorities spend a good deal of time patrolling these areas although they certainly cannot be there constantly