Honestly I have been thinking about this topic for the better part of the day. Sitting in meetings - where I should be paying strict attention
- I found myself thinking about this topic and what I might have as a "final statement" on it. In the end, I'm not sure I have anything profound or earth-shattering - but I'll at least take the opportunity given and put something down.
First - thanks Don for your long-standing efforts with this forum, the topics and the people that make up the "community" of Winni.com. You provided the soap box from which many have shared their opinions - good - bad - and, at times - ugly.
A LOT has changed in the years I have been coming to the lake - I started when I was 10 mo. old. Pictures of me sitting on my dads lap in our 16' Glastron, had a whopping 120hp 4cyl Merc I/O in it, green and cream in color - classic! It is what got me into boating and the passion that I have today for it. I always said, if I could displace some of the boating related info in my head and replace it with something more useful, I'd be waaaay ahead of the game! Since that Glastron, I have (personally) owned a bunch of boats - some fast - some slow - and I have enjoyed every one of them in their own way (or the way they were designed - for the most part anyway). I will agree that there are days that I wish for the "good ole days" of the lake, where everyone waved to each other. ALL boaters respected the rules AND each other, it was a fraternal respect of sorts, and it's what made the lake great!
Fast-forward to today... The lake has grown in popularity and population, and with that comes the chance that you'll get people with more money than brains. Anyone with the money can buy a boat - doesn't make them an instant experienced operator. Sure you can take the safe boating class - again, it is administrative smarts - not practical - and nothing else makes you good at something like experience. With that experience needs to come a rational level of common sense, again - not a "learned" skill, more an inherent one. Fixing a problem that never existed is foolhardy and a waste of good money, time and efforts. Overlooking the true issue that faces us today - to enact a "feel good" law, is foolhardy and short-sighted and will do nothing to make our waterways "safer". A speed limit will not prevent BUI's - a speed limit will not prevent boats from passing within 150' of one another - a speed limit will not make an operator a better - safer boater, period. The "illusion" that the speed limit had had some sort of effect on make our waterway "safer" is absurd. There are no FACTS to substantiate this, and there are no FACTS that say we need a speed limit, period. Accidents happen every day, in boats, in cars, on motorcycles - I know, I have been there. I've been in car accidents, I've been in a bad motorcycle accident, but in all my years boating, (and they are greater than the number of years I have been driving on the roads) I have never been in a boating accident (knock on wood)
. I have witnessed many a boating accident over the years, most have been while people are docking. Any at speed have been on the race course - I have never witnessed one personally that was not, not saying that it doesn't happen, I have just never seen one. I have been involved in close-calls out on the water, passing too close, being cut off, wave runners jumping my wake, etc... NONE have been a result of excessive speed.
We need to hold accountable the operators of the boats, not the type of boat that is being operated. It's not the boat, it's the operator - and I have said that 1,000's of times over the years!! A 22' bowrider is just as dangerous - if not more so - than a 32' "performance" boat, at a given speed, in the wrong hands - that's a fact! We can work smarter and not harder and have a more positive outcome here. Just putting police officers on the main public docs on busy weekend nights would do WONDERS for preventing BUI incidents. I think it is safe to say we are all out for a common goal in all of this, and that is the general safety of all those that boat on the lake. To this point, I don't support a speed limit for a number or reasons, one - I don't see the need for one and I don't see the facts to support one. And two - it is a freedom that is being taken away by big government, and that I certainly do not agree with! I believe in the right to free speech, I believe in the right to bear arms... fundamental rights - and all very important rights. I also believe that a small group should not artificially manipulate the facts and serve them up on a silver platter to those that can - and do - effect change.
Monies are tight, budgets are being cut, and the MP has so much more on their plate that they SHOULD and could be addressing, besides the speed limit. Our lake is safe, period - statistically speaking, from a speed to incident ratio - it is very safe! I might not choose to make my primary boat a kayak or sailboat, but I respect the fact that you have - and I would never look to take that away from you. It is a BIG lake, and we can all enjoy it - be it in a canoe or a performance boat, whatever makes you happy.
And lastly, I agree with this former statement:
RULE 6 NEEDS TO BE THE OVERRIDING LAW IN PLACE ON THE WATER.
It's almost universal.
http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navru...les/Rule06.htm
Speed limits are NOT going to solve the issues we face on the lake today - as speed is NOT the enemy! Better boater education, tighter laws on things like BUI and the direct repercussions, and better enforcement of the laws that actually promote safe boating are the key!
May you all have a safe and happy holiday season and I look forward to seeing you ALL out on the water come the spring!