For additional information: Dawna Taylor, Public Information Officer
Maricopa County Parks and
Recreation Department
Office: (602) 506-1114 – Cell: (602) 525-5733
Teresa Guillen, Public Information Officer
Arizona Game and Fish Department
Office: (623) 236-7377
Tom Nunes, Public Affairs Officer
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary – Arizona
Office: (602) 617-1979
May 8, 2008
Is your boat ready for the water?
(Peoria) – Is your watercraft safe? If you hesitated while answering this question, then you won’t want to miss the 2008 Arizona Safe Boating Celebration at Lake Pleasant Regional Park on May 17 from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free vessel safety checks will be offered by the U.S. Power Squadron and U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary at the ten and four-lane boat ramps.
The average check takes approximately 15-minutes and can be performed while you’re preparing to launch your boat. During the check, examiners will review federal and state boating laws and recommend equipment that will help to ensure that your boat is operating safely. Experts will also be on hand to provide information on how to select the right life-jacket, the effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, the consequences for operating a boat under the influence of alcohol and those pesky aquatic hitchhikers – Quagga mussels.
Don’t have a boat? No problem. Visit the vintage life-jacket display to see how life-jackets have evolved over the years or take a kayak out for a test drive at the ten-lane boat ramp. Guests will also be treated to a wakeboard demonstration and an H-60 Jayhawk helicopter swimmer rescue. Prizes will be raffled off throughout the morning. The first 200 vessel owners who receive a safety check will receive a discount coupon for future park entry. The event is included in the $5 per vehicle park entry fee (plus $2 per watercraft).
For more information on the event, visit www.azsafeboating.org. Lake Pleasant Regional Park is located at 41835 N. Castle Hot Springs Road in Morristown. From I-17, take SR-74 (Carefree Highway) west; turn right at Mile Post 19; three miles to the park entrance. For additional information on the park, visit www.maricopa.gov/parks/lake_pleasant.
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Dawna L. Taylor
Public Information Officer
Maricopa County Parks and Recreation Department
234 N. Central Avenue, Ste. 6400
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
(602) 506-1114(602) 506-4692 - fax(602) 525-5733 - cell
From hiking on a barrier-free trail, to horseback riding along a creek, Maricopa County Parks offer visitors the best of the Sonoran Desert. To learn more, visit the Parks Website at www.maricopa.gov/parks!
