New rule for Lake Norman boat rentals driven by recent drownings, accidents

Lake patrol officers know to expect tragedy every summer on Lake Norman. With booze-filled boats and life-jacketless swimmers also come drowned bodies.

New regulations, leaders hope, could stunt what has become a treacherous and tragic norm on the state’s largest man-made lake about 20 miles north of Charlotte.

Starting January 1, businesses renting a boat on Lake Norman will be required to provide basic boater education about no wake areas and required boating safety equipment, like life jackets, wrote marine commissioner Morris Sample in an email to the Charlotte Observer Thursday.

While officers routinely find people too drunk to drive a boat or without proper equipment, the “true killer” leading to drownings has proven to be general lack of situational awareness and location, said Cornelius Police Department’s George Brinzey.

“With recreation comes great responsibility,” he said, and every drowning is preventable.

“People with life jackets, they don’t drown,” Brinzey said. “It’s that simple.”

Drowning season

Early this month, a 19-year-old died after jumping from quarry cliffs along the lake.

Last month, a local 16-year-old drowned after jumping off a boat near The Sandbar, a popular hangout on Lake Norman. The death investigation, led by Cornelius Police and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, is still underway.

About 50 miles south, a seasoned boater died on Lake Wylie in South Carolina in March.

None wore life jackets, officials said.

According to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, there have been 20 drownings since April 2021 in natural water across the counties that border Lake Norman: Catawba, Iredell, Lincoln and Mecklenburg.

NC boating education

Lake Norman’s new regulation passed Monday — less than a month after South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster signed a boater education safety bill requiring anyone under the age of 16 to undergo training before operating any watercraft in the state.

According to North Carolina state law, anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1988 must get a state Boater Education certificate to legally operate a boat powered by a motor of 10 horsepower or more. Renters avoid the law when they sign rental agreements.

The Lake Norman Marine Commission took Florida’s rental boat permit bill, which passed last year, and molded it to Lake Norman’s needs, Brinzey said.

“I grew up on Lake Norman,” Brinzey said. “I am the biggest proponent of using this lake for recreation… but we have to come together as a community and take the safety aspect into the forefront.”

Until now, the only safeguards for renters on Lake Norman were voluntary safety courses or material posted through the marine commission’s “Love Where You Lake” campaign, which provides education on regulations, ordinances and laws in the area.

Brinzey said the campaign was a “single source of truth” specific to the area for veteran boaters and renters alike, but its effectiveness hinged on people actually reading it.

The police department, in partnership with Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Deparment and inspired by “Love Where You Lake,” will open a Boat Safety Center and offer free training for owners, renters and anyone who wants to be a better boater. Boats LKN, which will fund the center, is looking for an executive director, Brinzey said, as well as sponsors who’d like to support the trainings.

Many officials used the same comparison when explaining the importance of boater education.

“Just like you’d go to the DMV and take a driver’s test, you’ve got to know the rules before you drive a boat,” said Catawba County Wildlife Commission Officer Omar Petty, who has patrolled the area for about eight months.

And just like driving a car, it’s always a good idea to have a designated captain.

Brinzey, who emphasizes the importance of life jackets, compared the flotation devices to a seat belt. Instead of only issuing tickets to those without proper life jackets on board, his department hands out proper life jackets, too.

The Sandbar

The Sandbar in Lake Norman has been a notorious hub for chaos, both care-free and treacherous, since its first boom in the 2000s.

While its location has skipped around the lake, the current strip has stayed long enough for “The Sandbar” to earn its own Google Maps tag and 4.8-star rating. It’s a great place to relax and meet new people, most reviewers agree.

“Lord of the flies vibes,” one person said.

For many, part of the draw of boating is drinking on the water. At The Sandbar, people link their watercrafts together and drink the day away on the boat or circling floats.

“We know what goes on,” Petty said. Police don’t circle the area to ruin anyone’s fun; they do it to make sure someone’s first day on the lake doesn’t turn into their final day.