It's hard to imagine boating without drinking/partying. (Captain Morgan! Video honeys! A whole ocean for a barf bowl!) But if you're the one behind the steering wheel, the L.A. Sheriff's Department is prepared to treat you as they would any drunken fool on the 405:

Beginning today and ending Sunday, for the third year in a row, the sheriff's Marine Unit will be hosting a fun-filled “boating under the influence” (BUI) crackdown…

… including “traffic stops and BUI sobriety check points.” Marina Del Rey Patch reports that “signage” and “police monitoring of lakes and ocean waterways” will be involved.

It's all part of Operation Dry Water, the national Coast Guard's annual attempt to curb the “deadly consequences” of drinking and boating.

As far as we can tell, you're still allowed to drink on the boat — just as long as you're not operating it. But law-enforcement officials aren't about to say that out loud. “Boating under the influence can ruin a great day on the water,” warns the Operation Dry Water website. “19% of boating fatalities are a result of alcohol use.” And a “pledge” form on the site has boaters promise to:

law logo2x bSounds about as fun as a promise ring.

We've contacted the sheriff's station for more on the logistics of the BUI checkpoints at Marina Del Rey. (Can't you just, like, boat around them?) But this does seem like more of an information campaign than a police state: Lieutenant Reginald Gautt tells Patch that the L.A. branch of the operation only netted two arrests last year.

Still, maybe try to avoid popping bottles, juggling champagne flutes and other public displays of party rock.

[@simone_electra / swilson@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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