Boaters from just about everywhere flocked to the Lake of the Ozarks Wednesday.

But one man's fun is another man's job.

John Lascock and his family are ready for a day of fun at the lake. But they know safety comes first.

Lascock said, "If you use common sense you'll have fun and be safe."

"Safety's number one for the water patrol, so we're mainly looking for violations," Lt. Nick Humphrey, with the Missouri Water patrol, said.  He uses his eyes first when it comes to the water.

"Were looking for people hanging off the side of boats, not wearing life jackets," Humphrey said.

The water patrol wants people to have a good time, but the lake can be a dangerous place.

"There's more accidents on this lake than any other lake in the country," Humprey said.

According to the Coast Guard, the Lake of the Ozarks is the third-most dangerous body of water in the country, following the Atlantic Ocean and the Colorado River.

The water patrol watches over all of Lake Ozark, but pays close attention to Anderson Hollow Cove, a.k.a. Party Cove.

"Party Cove does present a lot of problems, everything from nudity, to overt sexual acts, to drunken boating, to emergencies where people have fallen off their boats," Humphrey said.

The water patrol expects this Saturday to be one of its busiest days of the boating season.

Officers expect 1,500 to 2,000 boats to stop in Party Cove on Saturday.

The water patrol said that depending on where the Fourth falls in the week, it's usually its busiest time of year.

So far this year there have been seven deaths at the lake.