The presence of the Coast Guard on Lake Garda is back for the spring break and summer holidays. A small fleet of nine naval units with bases at Salò (on the west coast of the lake), Nago-Torbole and Lazise (on the east side) with the main purpose of helping the tens of thousands of tourists crowd the beaches everyday – over 164 km of coastline – or those who decide to test the waters with sail boats, wind and kite surfs. In fact, with very sudden changes of weather and winds, the lake can be a dangerous place for those who are not experienced; these conditions are often used by professional skippers and sailors in preparation for the America’s Cup and by Italian Olympic team.
Last year the Coast Guard was busy on 73 naval missions with over 15.441 nautical miles covered during surveillance and security activities; 144 the SAR operations and 222 people rescued . The are 37 registered active sailors on the lake coordinated by the central outpost which is active 24/7 and in 2022 their intervention saw a 30% rise from the previous year.
The Coast Guard not only patrols the lake it also has police duty: last season
over four thousand inspections were carried out, with 563 fines and 29 boats seized. So be careful, check the weather and the naval regulations, both on boats, onshore and on surfboards.
In case of an emergency, call the Coast Guard immediately: 1530
