Reported by: Richard Chiles Photographed by: Michael Benedic Web produced by: Alyssa Bunn
Tri-State boaters planning to enjoy the holiday weekend on the river have been warned to be careful where they make waves.
Jerry Taggert has been boating for 40 years. As this year's boating season gets underway on the unofficial start of summer, Taggert said he is glad more attention is being paid to to wake regulations. He thinks that tougher enforcement of the no-wake rules may make Ohio River boating safer for everyone.
"The slower you're going, the more time you have to stop. You don't stop a boat like a car. You gotta see whats out there," said Taggart.
The current regulations create a "No-Wake" zone from sunset to sunrise between the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge and the Brent Spence Bridge.
Taggert said this rule is crutial to keeping boaters safe. "At night, from dusk to dawn, they shouldn't be going much faster than idle because you don't know whats out there in the water," he explained.
Many other Ohio River veterans agree with Taggert.
"There's so many boats that want to come Downtown and see the sights. They just need to be controlled a little bit more," said Dan Henson of Manhattan Harbour.
Signs mark the zone currently enforced by Kentucky police agencies. Those responsible for river safety said the no-wake law saves lives.
"That's a congested area between the bridges Downtown, with barges coming out of the Licking River. It's not a place where people should be running through wide open throttle," said Jim Barrow of the Cincinnati Fire Department.
Many boaters agree that the rush of big, fast-moving water craft can cause many problems, including stirring up dangerous debris against docks and rocking smaller vessels on the water.
"The no-wake close to restaurants is a courtesy. It shakes the boats. It's a hazard of somebody falling in the river," said Barrow.
"It causes a lot of problems for the smaller boats... they'll rock. If they've got a lot of kids on it, they really need to slow down," warned Barrow.
People who work and play on the waterfront are in agreement that no-wake laws are a simple solution that can help avert a tragedy.
Ernest Scribbler 27 May 2008 16:04:24 [ permanent link ]
"Garrison Hilliard" wrote
"The slower you're going
The worst wakes I've encountered have come from 40' cruisers going about 10mph. On the other hand, I frequently see bass boats going what looks like 60mph making no appreciable wake. Seems to me like there's more than one issue here.
In Minnesota, the St Croix River has the most stringent no wake laws. Studies have shown that wakes are the single greatest source of shoreline erosion on the river.
Wake laws apply to Minnesota lakes as well. It is a pretty broad definition, but it is unlawful to:
"To operate a watercraft so that its wash or wake endangers, harasses, or interferes with any person or property."
I have a cabin on a small lake in northern Minnesota. It sits on a point and I would lose about a half a foot of shoreline a year to erosion. Most came from wind induced wave action, but being a small lake, nearly every power boat would induce a wake which would further erode the shore. I finally solved the problem and lowered my blood pressure at the same time by rip-rapping the shoreline with rock. Hoisting 40 tons of rock was easier than trying to educate the power boat crowd to watch their wakes.
Wakes are simply another symptom of the same old problem: People concentrate too much on themselves and have very little concern for others.
Ernest Scribbler 27 May 2008 22:02:46 [ permanent link ]
"Richard Casady" wrote
You must not have boxboats where you do your boating. Surfaced
submarines at high speed are probably the worst.
You mean container ships? None of those here. No subs either. We get a lot of these http://blizzard.zmm.com/tug/capned2.jpg but their wakes aren't bad. (Good idea to stay clear of the propwash, though.)
