More drunks on water raise risk of drowning

By ELEANOR BLACK

Ten per cent of boaties get drunk while on the water and put themselves at risk of drowning, says a report.

A University of Auckland survey on alcohol and boating safety, issued today, found a significant increase in the number of boaties who drink (51 per cent) compared with a baseline survey in 1999 (22 per cent).

Of those surveyed by researchers from the Injury Prevention Research Centre, 10 per cent had consumed more than five drinks on their last boating trip and 12 per cent had taken three or four drinks.

Nearly 10 per cent of respondents admitted to falling off a boat in the past 12 months and 20 per cent of that group tumbled while trying to urinate off the side.

The report found boaties aged between 40 and 59 were most likely to drink, though men and women 40 and older were most likely to view the combination of water and drinking as dangerous.

Almost two-thirds of the skippers interviewed had completed a formal boating education course, but they were more likely to drink than their untrained counterparts. They were also more likely to think it was okay for their passengers to drink to excess.

Alcohol Advisory Council spokesman Ron Tustin said this was a major concern because skippers were responsible for passengers' safety.

He was pleased that council messages about taking care while drinking on the water were sinking in - 85 per cent of respondents thought it was likely that alcohol use on or near a boat would increase the risk of drowning.

Six hundred boaties from Auckland and Northland were surveyed. Nearly 75 per cent were men, and most were aged between 25 and 59.

Just over half had taken a drink on their last boating trip, with beer the most popular choice (77.7 per cent), followed by wine (26.1), spirits (14.9) and low-alcohol beer (4.2).

Those from Tutukaka in Northland were significantly more likely to drink (68.4 per cent) than Auckland boaties (45.1 per cent).

In Auckland, daytrippers from Westpark (83.3 per cent) were much more likely to drink on the water than their peers from Te Atatu (15.4 per cent).

The researchers did not find any significant differences in injury rates between drinkers and teetotallers.

* The Maritime Safety Authority has issued guidelines to reduce accidents and drownings when boats cross bars or river mouths.

The authority said extreme caution was needed on bars and river entrances.

Unusually sudden, steep and often breaking seas could catch skippers unawares and no amount of experience or boat type made crossing a bar safe when the conditions were marginal or adverse.

Night crossings were more hazardous and boats crossing at or near low water were more likely to experience adverse conditions than at high water.

nzherald.co.nz/marine