The U.S. Coast Guard will be out in force around Lake Michigan this Fourth of July weekend to make sure everyone’s being safe on the water.

Joe Neff is the Coast Guard Lake Michigan Public Affairs Officer and tells us it’s time for Operation Dry Water, with a focus on enforcing laws against boating under the influence.

“We do this every year,” Neff said. “Being that the 4th of July is going to be a huge weekend, a lot of boats on the water, this is just a great time for us to get out there with extra patrols, do some boardings, and make sure everybody’s out there boating safely.”

Neff says Coast Guard stations all around the Great Lakes will stop by to chat with boaters just to make sure they’re being safe.

“We’ll come up alongside, we’ll have conversations, see what they’re doing, and then we’ll just do a quick boarding on board the boat and make sure you have everything [you need] on there. You got all your life jackets, on board signaling devices, your flares, working radio. Again, the big thing is we try to make sure that if you’re in a boat on Lake Michigan that you be safe.”

Neff says boating while under the influence is both irresponsible and illegal. If the Coast Guard catches a drunk boater, they’ll take them back to shore and turn them over to law enforcement.

Neff said the main goal is to prevent tragedies. That’s why he also reminds everyone to wear a life jacket, telling us it’s not easy to strap on a life preserver once a boat is already going down. Everyone’s just told to wear one the entire time they’re out in the lake.