How does drinking alcohol while boating affect other conditions related to being out on the water

Drinking alcohol and being under the influence of drugs reduces your ability to boat safely.

Alcohol and drugs affect your judgement, vision, coordination and reflexes—increasing your risk of having a marine incident.

Sun, heat, wind, waves and constant motion can increase these effects of alcohol and drugs. Reflexes and response times in emergencies are slowed and swimming ability may be reduced.

The master of a class 1 commercial vessel must have a blood alcohol limit of 0.

The master of all other classes of domestic commercial vessels (class 2, 3 and 4) must have a blood alcohol limit of less than 0.05.

It is recommended that all domestic commercial vessel skippers have a blood alcohol limit of 0 for general safety.

The skipper of all other boats must have a blood alcohol limit of less than 0.05. The skipper is also responsible for the safety of passengers and their alcohol consumption.

Read more about alcohol limits in Queensland and the effects of alcohol on driving.

Drug rules

Police can also ask you to provide a saliva sample to detect the presence of:

• Methylamphetamine—also known as speed and ice
• MDMA—the active ingredient in ecstasy
• THC—the active ingredient in cannabis.

There is zero tolerance for driving or boating under the influence of drugs. Read more information on drugs and driving, including penalties, the testing process and effects of drugs.

Suspension of a marine licence

If you have a recreational marine licence and are convicted of any drink or drug driving offence involving operating a recreational vessel under section 79 of the Transport Operations (Road Use Management) Act 1995, your marine licence can be cancelled or suspended.

Get more information about disqualification from holding a marine licence.

If you hold a commercial marine qualification and are convicted of a drink or drug driving offence, this information will be provided to the National Regulator, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), who may consider whether the person is a fit and proper person to continue to hold that marine qualification.

Most boating accidents involve the use of alcohol and one-third of all boating fatalities are alcohol related. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, alcohol was the leading known contributing factor in fatal boating accidents and was listed as the leading factor in 15 percent of deaths. It is illegal to operate a boat, or to permit others to do so, while under the influence of alcohol, narcotics, or barbiturates. Penalties are severe and could include fines, imprisonment, non-paid public service work, and mandatory substance abuse counseling.

Alcohol is a stressor and can decrease a person’s ability to handle a boat in many ways. As a depressant, alcohol goes straight to the nerves, blood stream, and the brain. As recreational boaters it is hard enough to remember all the rules, regulations, boat handling techniques, etc. while lucid.

A few beers to quench the thirst in a rapidly dehydrating body and the following happens:

Eroding sense of balance

Most boating deaths result from falling out of a small open boat, without a PFD, whether it capsizes or not.

Vision fades

Because of the sun and reflection of light, objects on the water can be hazy and difficult to see. Color perception and peripheral vision deteriorate and at night depth perception decreases. You can imagine what happens if you can’t distinguish between the red and green markers or red and green lights of an oncoming vessel at night.

Physical reactions become slower

Should a person fall into the water they may have trouble just floating, let alone grasping onto a life ring or throwable device. Add the shock of the cold water and the risk of cramping and drowning is increased significantly.

Surface blood vessels dilate

Blood vessels on the surface of the skin dilate to increase the rate of body heat loss while in the sun. If, while these vessels are dilated, you fall overboard into cold water hypothermia sets in quickly and this further reduces your decision-making abilities.

Judgment and reasoning ability is impaired

One of the things that drinking tends to do is to make you begin to lose your judgment. After a drink or two people tend to become relaxed and are more likely to perform dangerous acts that they might not normally do if not under the influence. Because their judgment is impaired they may not even realize they are doing something dangerous. This, combined with the other debilitating symptoms previously covered, spells disaster.

Environmental stressors

Natural stressors such as exposure to sun, glare, wind, noise, vibration, and motion on the water produces fatigue. This in itself reduces reaction time almost as much as being under the influence. Adding alcohol to these environmental stressors intensifies their effects.

Passengers who are drinking should be encouraged to wear life jackets.

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