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Weekend Pundit · 05-29-2006, 02:31 PM

My family and I were out on the lake yesterday and while a majority of the boaters out there were doing a pretty good job of following the 600' restriction, too damn many went plowing on as if there were no such thing as a no wake zone at all.

On more than one occasion I saw folks cutting close to shore well within 150' while on plane. Others would hit the throttles as soon as they got clear of the No Wake buoys. I saw a couple blow right through the new no wake zone between Governor's and Eagle Island.

Most folks I saw were maintaining headway, but leaving no wake behind them while within 600' of shore. A few came up on plane within 600' (400'-500'), but that might have been a matter of misjudging the distance from shore.

There are only three explanations I can think of for the observed non-compliance:

1. Ignorance of the declaration by the Department of Safety (plausible).

2. Misjudging the distance from shore (also plausible).

3. Arrogance on behalf of the boater in question, believing that the declaration doesn't include them; or total ignorance of the regulations and laws and not wishing to waste the time to know them (more than likely).

I did get the chance to speak to a half dozen of the scofflaws, and all but one of them hadn't heard about the declaration. The last one had thought he was 600 feet from shore (he was just under 300 feet).

The Marine Patrol was kept busy, particularly at the Weirs. One of the MP officers I spoke to there said he'd cited over 30 boaters between 10 AM and 3PM for violating the No Wake declaration as they approached or were departing the Weirs.

05-29-2006, 02:31 PM	#16
Weekend Pundit Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Gilford Posts: 362 Thanks: 26 Thanked 70 Times in 43 Posts	"No Wake Zone? What No Wake Zone?" My family and I were out on the lake yesterday and while a majority of the boaters out there were doing a pretty good job of following the 600' restriction, too damn many went plowing on as if there were no such thing as a no wake zone at all. On more than one occasion I saw folks cutting close to shore well within 150' while on plane. Others would hit the throttles as soon as they got clear of the No Wake buoys. I saw a couple blow right through the new no wake zone between Governor's and Eagle Island. Most folks I saw were maintaining headway, but leaving no wake behind them while within 600' of shore. A few came up on plane within 600' (400'-500'), but that might have been a matter of misjudging the distance from shore. There are only three explanations I can think of for the observed non-compliance: 1. Ignorance of the declaration by the Department of Safety (plausible). 2. Misjudging the distance from shore (also plausible). 3. Arrogance on behalf of the boater in question, believing that the declaration doesn't include them; or total ignorance of the regulations and laws and not wishing to waste the time to know them (more than likely). I did get the chance to speak to a half dozen of the scofflaws, and all but one of them hadn't heard about the declaration. The last one had thought he was 600 feet from shore (he was just under 300 feet). The Marine Patrol was kept busy, particularly at the Weirs. One of the MP officers I spoke to there said he'd cited over 30 boaters between 10 AM and 3PM for violating the No Wake declaration as they approached or were departing the Weirs.