OUTDOOR NOTES / PETE THOMAS : Boating Officials Stress Safe and Sober Holiday

If you’re planning a boat trip this weekend, beware of other boats, wear a life jacket and don’t drink and drive. Heed this advice and you stand a better chance of getting through the Labor Day holiday unscathed.

So say boating officials, who are issuing stern warnings that this weekend, the last big weekend of the summer, is the most dangerous of the year.

“The weekend will be marked by a sharp increase in boating fatalities,” predicted Richard Schwartz, president of Boat Owners Assn. of the United States.

Indeed, according to an 18-year study conducted by the U.S. Coast Guard from 1969-87, the Labor Day death toll is 73% higher than the average number of boating fatalities reported for non-holiday weekends in September.

BOAT/U.S. estimates that as many as 30 people will die in boating accidents across the country this weekend and adds that most accidents will be the result of operator error.

What can you do to improve your chances amid the holiday boating crowd?

--Keep a constant watch for other boats, swimmers and skiers. Most accidents are collisions, and according to California’s Department of Boating and Waterways, 90% are caused by failure to maintain a lookout. In rivers, also watch for changes in water levels, strong currents and drop-offs.

--Make sure everyone on board is wearing a life jacket. About four of five people who die in boating accidents are not wearing personal flotation devices. According to the Coast Guard, capsizes and falls overboard accounted for 60% of all boating fatalities in 1991.

--Designate a sober skipper. Excessive alcohol consumption is a factor in at least half of all fatal boating accidents, according to Adm. William Ecker, head of the Coast Guard’s recreational boating safety program. Ecker added that a study indicated that intoxicated boaters--with a blood-alcohol level of .10 or more--are nearly 11 times more likely to die in a boating accident than those who remain sober.

In 1991 there were 8,821 vessels involves in boating accidents, which resulted in 924 fatalities.

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Tuesday’s dove season opener was one of “moderate” hunter success in the Imperial Valley, according to warden Bill Whiteley of the California Department of Fish and Game.

“Not bad for a midweek opener,” Whiteley said. “It was generally good but you had to work all morning for a limit.”

In the northeast sector, north of Brawley east of U.S. 111 and around Winterhaven near the Arizona border, most hunters bagged limits of 10, somewhat fewer in other areas, with some whitewings among the mourning doves. It might have been better if high winds a few days earlier hadn’t pushed many birds into Mexico.

By midday, DFG wardens in the southern part of the state had issued 10 citations, including three for over-limits and three for hunting without licenses.

A report from the San Joaquin Valley around Delano said the shooting was so-so, with few hunters, no big concentrations of birds and hunters averaging about five each.

After the opening volleys, the birds can be expected to be shy for a few days, but could be flying by this weekend, Whiteley said. He recommended areas east of Niland and Holtville.

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Missing swordfish: The four-foot broadbill that spent four days last week trapped inside King Harbor in Redondo Beach, has not been seen since Thursday, according to Rocky Post, a businessman at the harbor.

“People have been snooping around, looking for it,” Post said Tuesday. “But I really think it found its way out. At least that’s what we’re hoping.”

Briefly

SALTWATER--The yellowfin tuna at the outer banks below the border have become active again, after the counts dropped significantly on Sunday. Dorado fishing remains steady. Yellowtail catches have dropped, but the size of the fish have improved, with some topping 20 pounds. The L.A.-Long Beach Harbor and Newport Beach fleets are still finding scattered concentrations of tuna and yellowtail, though catches have dropped.

Cabo San Lucas: Blue marlin showing at the scales daily, averaging 200-260 pounds, a few topping 300. Don Meredith, no relation to Dandy Don of football fame, took the biggest, a 520-pound blue aboard the Gaviota IV. Dorado is steady a mile out of the harbor. Water has been 85 degrees and calm. Daytime temperatures near 100 degrees. East Cape: Weather is hot and so is the fishing. According to reports out of Hotel SPA Buenavista boats are averaging 10-20 dorado a day. Blue marlin are showing sporadically, hitting lures of all colors, and sailfish have been taking live bait.

La Paz: Dorado fishing is steady at the islands south of the harbor entrance, averaging 10-40 pounds. Blue marlin to 300 pounds continue to hit lures offshore. Sailfish taking live bait at Embado Bank.

Midriff Islands: Strong winds and stormy conditions have limited fishing. The vessels Erik and Capt. Villegas returned to San Felipe with mostly cabrilla.