A new state report says more boaters were involved in accidents in California waters last year than any year on record.
The Department of Boating and Waterways says nearly one thousand accidents led to 61 deaths and more than 500 injuries.
The accident tally was the highest since the state began keeping statistics three decades ago.
While the number of boating fatalities has risen in the last 10 years, the death count is smaller than it was in the early 1980s.
The report says alcohol was a factor in more than a fifth of the deaths last year.
Nearly a third of all those who died were fishing.
Only one of 37 drowning victims was wearing a life jacket.
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Read the report: http://www.dbw.ca.gov/PDF/BoatSafety2003.pdf
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 4:29 pm