Last year there were 47 boating fatalities in Texas.

It was the first time in four year that the number of deaths rose above 40. And 12 of those fatalities occurred on Lake Travis. It's why an innovative water safety program is being preached in Devil's Cove.

"Any death on the lake is one too many, so if we can prevent even just one, then that's exactly what we're going to do," said LCRA spokesman Kevin Tuerff.

So the LCRA along with Texas Parks and Wildlife are stepping up a second year water safety campaign called Nobody's Waterproof. It targets young boaters. But before they could step it up, they had to step out in something a little less embarrassing.

"We had a nice pontoon boat, but when we're trying to talk to 16 to 24 year olds and get their attention, we needed to jazz it up," Tuerff said.

Now in a respectable ride, the Nobody's Waterproof boat commands a shout‑out. That acceptance allows the outreach team members to promote water safety in a more sociable, interactive way.

"Who know how many life jackets are required on board a boat. One for each person. That's right!"

Correct answers earn prizes, and even pictures that go on the Nobody's Waterproof website, which draws the boaters back to the message of water safety. And you may have noticed the outreach team members are young ‑‑ that's not an accident.

"We're all in kind of the same demographic as the people that we're going out there to reach, so we're more like peers. We're not policing them or anything, we're coming to them with a fun boat," outreach team member Jill Kreindler said.

But the message is serious. The LCRA reports 85 percent of last year's, drowning, fatality victims in Texas were not wearing a life jacket.

"You may not always want to wear the big, bright orange boxy thing, but there are some really cool things that could save your life," Tuerff said.

Like these ultra thin models that inflate as soon as you hit the water or pull the cord.

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Alcohol is the other significant problem. The LCRA reports that of the 12 boating deaths on Lake Travis last year, eight were alcohol related. And of those, seven were over the legal limit. Cedric David, who grew up boating on the Mediterranean, emphatically supports the Nobody's Waterproof program.

"I think everybody needs that, and definitely Lake Travis needs that. Why? I don't know, because people are not responsible. People don't respect the no-wake-zone, people drink and drive. People like pull two skiers at the same time. People are crazy out there. That's just no good," David said.

The LCRA's Nobody's Waterproof campaign received so much acclaim during its first year that it teamed with Texas Parks and Wildlife this year.

That means the program is now being promoted statewide.