Post by mwardncsu on Jan 31, 2017 19:21:11 GMT -5
m.smithmountainlake.com/community/groups-to-address-boat-wake-concerns/article_1e2136d1-d6ca-5294-b5ef-b7b72946a23e.html?mode=jqm
Groups to address boat wake concerns
By Jason Dunovant | jason.dunovant@smithmountainlaker.com 721-4675 (ext. 407)
With the increasing size of boat wakes becoming a concern for residents of Smith Mountain Lake and other bodies of water throughout Virginia, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is hosting a series of meetings in Richmond to discuss the issue, while locally, boaters are being encouraged to mind their wakes.
The ire stems from the relatively new sport of wakesurfing. Large wakes from boats are created for wakesurfers to ride. As the sport’s popularity has grown, the size of the wakes created by boats has increased as well.
Residents of Lake Anna, near Washington D.C., brought their concerns to the DGIF board last year, according to Stacey Brown, DGIF boating safety program manager. They requested support for a resolution to require motorboats towing riders to be at least 100 feet from the shoreline and motorboats with “wake-enhancing capabilities” to be no more than 200 feet from the shoreline.
To gather more information about the issue, Brown said the DGIF board asked staff to convene a series of meetings. The next one is scheduled for Feb. 13 in Richmond.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for those for and against wakesurfing to share their viewpoints. Brown said after all the meetings are held, DGIF staff will present a report suggesting any rule changes to the DGIF board at its Feb. 21 meeting.
Locally, the Smith Mountain Lake Association’s Water Safety Council created a sub-committee last September to explore the impact of wakesurfing. Sub-committee member Randy Stow said the first step should be better education.
“We are convinced that many of them are not even aware,” said Stow of wakesurfers and the wakes their boats create.
Stow and other sub-committee members are working with the Water Safety Council to find ways to raise awareness of the problems wakes can cause. They have also attended the recent DGIF meetings in Richmond.
The group will be handing out “watch your wake” stickers at the upcoming Southwest Virginia Boat Show in Roanoke. Stow said it will be the first step in an ongoing education campaign.
Lake resident Rhonnie Smith agreed that more education is needed for boaters, but he said it will only go so far to solve the problem. Wakes have caused more than $1,000 in damage to his boat in recent years, Smith said, and it’s often difficult for him to take his boat out.
Smith and his wife, Doris, live on the Roanoke River arm of the lake near Virginia Dare Cruises and Marina. That area of the lake has become a popular spot for wakesurfers, Smith said. As they pass by his dock, they create waves as high as 3 or 4 feet.
“They are not paying any attention to the impact of what their good time is doing to others,” he added.
Like the resolution proposed by Lake Anna residents, Smith said he would like to see a law that would require boats carrying wakesurfers to be at least 200 feet from the shoreline.
“There has to be a way we can all live together,” Smith said.
Jerry Hale, an avid wakesurfer and member of the Water Safety Council, is concerned that any new regulations could have a negative effect on wakesurfing as well as the larger lake community. New laws could cause wakesurfers to go elsewhere, resulting in less tourism dollars for the community, Hale said.
Hale is also helping with the Water Safety Council’s push to educate wakesurfers about the damage their wakes can cause.
“The wakesurfing community needs to modify their behavior,” Hale said.
Education will have an immediate impact on the community whereas implementing regulations would take time, Hale said.
Hale added he hopes it never gets to that point. “We really don’t want to be regulated.”
Groups to address boat wake concerns
By Jason Dunovant | jason.dunovant@smithmountainlaker.com 721-4675 (ext. 407)
With the increasing size of boat wakes becoming a concern for residents of Smith Mountain Lake and other bodies of water throughout Virginia, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is hosting a series of meetings in Richmond to discuss the issue, while locally, boaters are being encouraged to mind their wakes.
The ire stems from the relatively new sport of wakesurfing. Large wakes from boats are created for wakesurfers to ride. As the sport’s popularity has grown, the size of the wakes created by boats has increased as well.
Residents of Lake Anna, near Washington D.C., brought their concerns to the DGIF board last year, according to Stacey Brown, DGIF boating safety program manager. They requested support for a resolution to require motorboats towing riders to be at least 100 feet from the shoreline and motorboats with “wake-enhancing capabilities” to be no more than 200 feet from the shoreline.
To gather more information about the issue, Brown said the DGIF board asked staff to convene a series of meetings. The next one is scheduled for Feb. 13 in Richmond.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for those for and against wakesurfing to share their viewpoints. Brown said after all the meetings are held, DGIF staff will present a report suggesting any rule changes to the DGIF board at its Feb. 21 meeting.
Locally, the Smith Mountain Lake Association’s Water Safety Council created a sub-committee last September to explore the impact of wakesurfing. Sub-committee member Randy Stow said the first step should be better education.
“We are convinced that many of them are not even aware,” said Stow of wakesurfers and the wakes their boats create.
Stow and other sub-committee members are working with the Water Safety Council to find ways to raise awareness of the problems wakes can cause. They have also attended the recent DGIF meetings in Richmond.
The group will be handing out “watch your wake” stickers at the upcoming Southwest Virginia Boat Show in Roanoke. Stow said it will be the first step in an ongoing education campaign.
Lake resident Rhonnie Smith agreed that more education is needed for boaters, but he said it will only go so far to solve the problem. Wakes have caused more than $1,000 in damage to his boat in recent years, Smith said, and it’s often difficult for him to take his boat out.
Smith and his wife, Doris, live on the Roanoke River arm of the lake near Virginia Dare Cruises and Marina. That area of the lake has become a popular spot for wakesurfers, Smith said. As they pass by his dock, they create waves as high as 3 or 4 feet.
“They are not paying any attention to the impact of what their good time is doing to others,” he added.
Like the resolution proposed by Lake Anna residents, Smith said he would like to see a law that would require boats carrying wakesurfers to be at least 200 feet from the shoreline.
“There has to be a way we can all live together,” Smith said.
Jerry Hale, an avid wakesurfer and member of the Water Safety Council, is concerned that any new regulations could have a negative effect on wakesurfing as well as the larger lake community. New laws could cause wakesurfers to go elsewhere, resulting in less tourism dollars for the community, Hale said.
Hale is also helping with the Water Safety Council’s push to educate wakesurfers about the damage their wakes can cause.
“The wakesurfing community needs to modify their behavior,” Hale said.
Education will have an immediate impact on the community whereas implementing regulations would take time, Hale said.
Hale added he hopes it never gets to that point. “We really don’t want to be regulated.”
