RCMP take to the lakes this long weekend

VERNON/NORTH OKANAGAN –The boating season has just begun in the Okanagan, but there has already been one fatality.

Arlene Susan Westervelt, 56, died after her canoe capsized on Okanagan Lake in Lake Country.

She was not wearing a life-jacket.

READ MORE: Lake Country woman killed in canoeing accident identified

The Vernon/North Okanagan RCMP will be out on the water this long weekend checking boats for violations and to make sure they have all of the necessary safety equipment on board.

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Basic safety equipment for most vessels consists of:

• Approved lifejacket or PFD for each person onboard
• Buoyant heaving line (15M)
• Bailer or manual bilge pump
• One paddle or anchor
• One water tight flashlight
• One sound signaling device
• Most power vessels require a fire extinguisher.

Common violations include not being able to produce a licence, towing without a spotter, operating a personal water craft under the age of 16, and impaired driving of a vessel.

Watch below: Divers recover the body of a missing Lake Country woman.

2:01 Search crews scour Okanagan Lake for missing 57-year-old Lake Country woman