Yellowknife, N.W.T. - Plenty of boats will be out on territorial waters this long weekend, and the RCMP is encouraging all of them to be safe out there.

There were three incidents on Friday of boaters on Great Slave Lake being overdue or in distress.

Sergeant Grant Payne said in two of the cases radio contact was lost, while the third involved operators with limited knowledge of their surroundings.

"We had a mechanical issue with a boat, and there were some issues with trying to determine exactly where they were based on their own location, knowledge of the lake, and knowledge of some of the technology they had with them."

Great Slave Lake in particular is a vast body of water, so Payne said there are certain things boaters should have that make the RCMP's job easier.

"Things like GPS devices, satellite phones, marine band radios, the SPOT device that can relay back to people if they're in trouble or if they're okay, and exactly what their coordinates are."

The RCMP will have crews out on the water all weekend making sure boaters have the proper equipment, are wearing lifejackets, and are staying safe on the water.

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