Nothing Can Run a Boat Aground Quicker than a Snake on Board

On July 5, Georgia Department of Natural Resources ranger Cpl. David Allen responded to a call from Richland Creek on Lake Oconee of a boating accident. He arrived to find the boat had hit a dock, and then the seawall, before coming to rest about 16 foot up the shoreline. The culprit – a snake had turned up on board.

“From photos, Cpl. Allen identified it as a brown water snake,” Elizabeth Starkey, a spokesperson with the DNR said, adding that every summer they get many reports of snakes in boats. “Oftentimes, snakes will seek shelter and warmth in boats during colder months. When summer arrives and boat owners take their vessels out for the first time, they discover the snakes in compartments, under life jackets or in other spots.”

No doubt this particular boater will check carefully in future before hitting the open water. 

In other incidents in the weekly report on law enforcement activity on Georgia’s lakes, the DNR rangers reported a continued crackdown on boaters drinking while operating a vessel. In addition, several boaters were cited for traveling at night without the required navigational lights. There have been several nighttime collisions on area lakes this year, including two fatal ones on Lake Lanier.

Other enforcement activity included citing boaters for pulling skiers without a lookout, skiing after dark and several incidents of child endangerment for BUIs with a child or children on board. 

The following is the report for Gwinnett County DNR enforcement: 

• On July 1st, Sgt. Lee Brown and Cpl. Eric Sanders were patrolling the Chattahoochee River by boat. The rangers checked 300+ boats on this day. During the days patrol violations of operating a vessel without PFD’s, operating a vessel with insufficient PFD’s, violation of the 100 foot law, allowing a child under 10 ride in a moving vessel, fishing with illegal bait and possession of over the limit of trout were detected. Written warnings and citations were issued for these infractions.
• On July 1st, Sgt. Lee Brown and Cpl. Eric Sanders answered two complaints of holding a deer without a permit. The rangers went to two different houses in the Duluth area. One house had two deer and the other had three. The subjects worked at a vet’s office and were taking care of the deer after hours at home. Cpl. Sanders explained the law to the subjects and how for them to comply with the law.
• On July 5th, Cpl. Eric Sanders answered a complaint of a trapper not checking his traps within 24 hours. Cpl. Sanders met with the Gwinnett P.D. officer who observed the violation. Cpl. Sanders made contact with the trapper and issued him a citation for failure to check traps within a 24 hour period.
• On July 7th, Sgt. Lee Brown was patrolling the Lanier Park area of Lake Lanier when they observed a subject towing a tuber on a PWC without an observer. The operator was issued a written warning for the infraction.