A state advisory panel voted Thursday to extend a six-knot speed limit on boats several hundred feet off St. Michaels Harbor and to take no action on a request by 105 local petitioners to restrict boat speed on a larger section of the Miles River.
The Department of Natural Resources Boat Act Advisory Committee listened as a dozen St. Michaels-area boaters, residents and commercial tour boat operators told stories of frequent and dangerous boating conditions caused by the steep wakes of power boaters speeding in and out of St. Michaels.
A standing-room-only crowd filled the meeting room at the Talbot County Community Center in Easton as the panel took public comments.
Omer Brown, of St. Michaels, told the panel that heavy wake on the river was a safety concern for the 37 sailboat races conducted on the river each year. John Stumpf, of the Miles River Yacht Club’s Youth Sailing Camp, said that 85 children a day sail small boats in the waters off the yacht club each summer and are put in jeopardy by wakes that roll across the river.
Edward Farley, captain of the historic skipjack H.M. Krentz, described taking “green water” over the side of his vessel and onto his passengers as a powerboat cut close by. Captain Iris Clarke, of the sailing vessel Selina II, told the panel that wake from a boat crashed over the bow of her 40-foot boat. Langley Shook, president of the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum said that the shore of the museum and the historic boats tied to its bulkheads are under constant assault from wake.
Log Canoe skipper Marshall Patterson gave details of how his craft has been swamped by wake, throwing nine sailors into the water. Joan Murray, owner of the Miles Point property just north of St. Michaels Harbor, said that constant heavy wake was rapidly eroding her land.
One Miles River resident, Ron Sasiela, spoke out against the petition, saying the requested speed limit would partially restrict his ability to enjoy the river.
The Natural Resources Police told the panel they were against the restriction and said that based on the lack of complaints from boaters and no reported accidents, the Miles River is safe for boaters. The police department has four officers assigned to cover all of Talbot and Caroline counties around the clock.
After most of the 40 spectators left following the two-hour hearing, Advisory Committee Member Russ Dwyer, of St. Michaels, introduced a motion to take no action on the petition.
During a somewhat convoluted amendment and discussion process, a new motion was formulated that greatly reduced the area to be placed under a six-knot speed limit. Board members said that they had found there was no erosion issue to deal with and that only anecdotal information was given about safety concerns. They also said a six-knot speed limit could ban Log Canoe racing on the Miles because the boats frequently go faster.
The final vote to push the speed limit out several hundred feet into the river from the St. Michaels Harbor, which is now covered by that restriction, was approved by a 12-0 vote. The new speed zone will be in effect on Saturdays, Sundays and government holidays from April 15 to October 15.
John Gargalli, the St. Michaels boater who spearheaded the petition, said he hopes the new speed limit zone will help educate boaters coming into St. Michaels about the safety concerns caused by heavy wake and its impact on other boaters and sailboat racing events on the Miles River.
[…] State boating panel extends speed limit off St. Michaels Harbor, rejects request for broader restric… Tags: tour boat operators, boating conditions, Canoe skipper, river yacht club, st michaels, Department of Natural Resources, youth sailing By admin, on October 23, 2011 at 2:04 am, under Boating. No Comments Post a comment or leave a trackback: Trackback URL. « At 87, motorcycle man still a Wild One Jim Ingraham’s iChart: Chris Berman refuses to get off the fence » […]