With a forecast of fantastic weather for the long Columbus Day weekend, federal, state and local authorities said they will be out in full force to patrol Miami's Biscayne Bay in anticipation of the many boaters expected to hit the water.
Officials are sticking to the old adage of preparing for the worst and hoping for the best during a weekend that has regularly ended with an incident log full of arrests, injuries and, occasionally, deaths, said Jorge Pino, spokesman for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, at a news conference Thursday.
Three people were killed in boating accidents in 2002 and two college students died in a two-boat crash that severely injured seven others in 2006.
``We don't want that to be a pattern,'' Pino said. ``We need the boating community to assist us.''
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