Marine deputies call for safety on the water

MACOMB COUNTY — With Memorial Day behind us and the summer boating season well underway, officers of the Macomb County Sheriff’s Office Marine Division are calling upon those taking to the water to do so safely.

One of the most essential — and legally required — devices to have a boat is a Type I, II or III personal flotation device for every person on board. These life jackets should be certified by the United States Coast Guard and have a feature to keep the wearer’s head above the water. Pool-rated lifejackets without head support should not be used on open water like Lake St. Clair.

“That’s something that we, I would say, have zero tolerance for, especially (for) the young children,” said Marine Division Lt. Gary Weigand. “For children under the age of 6, the law reads that they have to have a life jacket on, and it has to be a Type I or a Type II. When I say we have zero tolerance, that means if we see a life jacket violation, we’re going to stop the boat.”

Along with life jackets, Type IV throwable devices like cushions and rings should be in a readily accessible area to be used in case anyone is drowning. Weigand recommends tying the throwable floatation device with a safety rope for easier recovery. Towels and changes of clothes are good to have aboard if anyone goes over the side, to prevent hypothermia from the cold water.

On-board fire extinguishers should be inspected and tested.

Communication comes in many forms, but Weigand says that cellphone reception is strong enough on Lake St. Clair to serve as a primary emergency communications device. Calls are routed through towers and, if 911 is dialed, location information is sent directly to dispatchers.

“It’s called Phase 2 that our dispatch center has,” said Marine Division Sgt. Jamie Bagos. “All that technology allows the triangulation of the location of the cellphones.”

A ship-to-shore radio should be kept on board in case something occurs where cellphone reception is bad. Other communication devices like flares, horns or bells are also essential to have. Extra batteries, portable chargers and other equipment needed to keep radios and phones going are good to bring as well.

Wiegand says the water level in Lake St. Clair is “shallow” and boaters should be aware of the shallow parts of the lakebed where running aground is possible.

Over the years, recreation on Lake St. Clair and the rest of Macomb County’s waters has become statistically safer.

“If you rewind about 10, 15 years ago, we would average about four fatal boating accidents a summer,” Wiegand said. “That number is way down … Now if we get one a summer, that’s kind of where we’ve been at. That could be anything from two boats crashing into each other causing a fatality to an accidental drowning.”

Of the four drownings that occurred under the Marine Division’s jurisdiction in 2025, only one occurred on Lake St. Clair. A single drowning also occurred in 2024.

Wiegand attributes several factors to the reduction in fatalities. The Macomb County Sheriff’s Office hosts boater safety classes at its Harrison Township boathouse. The classes are held at least once a month with dates added if needed. They are required for anyone born after July 1, 1996, to legally operate a vessel, and for anyone born after Dec. 31, 1978, to operate a jet ski or other motorized personal watercraft.

Another factor is the Marine Division’s enforcement strength and approach. Macomb County’s 85 square miles of Lake St. Clair — along with the inland lakes and waterways — are patrolled by the Marine Division’s four year-round deputies and officers. The summer months see four more deputies join the division, and around 70 Marine Division reserve officers are on standby throughout the year.

The division’s boats on Lake St. Clair are equipped for just about any type of emergency with onboard medical equipment including backboards, collars, oxygen, automated external defibrillators and Naloxone medication. Boats are also equipped with water cannons that pump lake water to extinguish fires on the water.

Wiegand says the Marine Division focuses its enforcement strategy on educating boaters rather than being punitive with one ticket written for about every 20 stops. The most common violations deputies stop boaters for are excess wake violations and overloading of boats.

“Our goal is to keep people safe,” Wiegand said. “We don’t want to ruin anybody’s weekend. We want people to enjoy Lake St. Clair and have a good time, but within reason and keep it safe. If we see a family on a boat and we stop them and we ask them and they’re a life jacket short, we would rather give you a life jacket than write you a ticket.”

If safety equipment is found to be out of compliance — a fire extinguisher is not charged, or flares are out of date — Marine Division deputies will have the boaters go back to shore and return with the proper equipment.

Boaters on Lake St. Clair should also remain aware of where they are in relation to international boundaries. Accidental crossings should be reported to the respective country’s border authority, and crossing into Canadian waters can lead to issues including differences in U.S. and Canadian laws about fishing, possessing firearms, possessing alcohol on boats and more.