[Evenstar]

Originally Posted by VtSteve

It took this long, After the speed limit was placed into law, for people to cut to the chase and give some real views. Evenstar said the years ago, which is what many opponents of the bill stated.

I wrote that before I had kayaked on winni. After paddling out on the lake a few times and nearly being run over by high-speed boaters, I saw why a speed limit was also needed. I still belive that lack of enforcement of current boating laws is still a major issue. I believe that both are equally important.
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Originally Posted by Wolfeboro_Baja

No, it’s based on the fact that a handful of people want to rid the lake of performance boats!! If it was based on common sense, there wouldn’t BE a speed limit. BUT, not everyone uses common sense, and, as we all know, YOU CAN’T LEGISLATE COMMON SENSE! If people are that fearful, perhaps they don’t belong on the lake.

No, that is just your opinion – it is not a fact. As I’ve stated several times on this forum, if all boaters had enough common sense, we would not need a speed limit – or many other laws. It is not common sense to travel at speeds that are beyond your ability to see other boaters in time to remain outside of their 150 foot zone – but it happens all the time. You can legislate a maximum lake speed that is safer for everyone on the lake – and that’s what this law does.

So, first, it’ll be the performance boats to disappear, then it’ll be the cabin cruisers, then the bass boats and finally, it’ll be anyone who doesn’t own shorefront property. Then the property owners will have their lake to themselves, kind of like what’s happened to Squam Lake.

There are bass boats on Squam – in fact (as I have already posted) they held their final NH competition on Squam a few years ago. The state is the one responsible for the limited access on Squam – and this is a problem on many NH lakes. The state owned public across from the Science Center in Holderness was actually donated to the state by the Squam Lake Association – and became the first public access on the lake.

You claim you have the right to kayak ANYWHERE on the lake yet you fear being run over by a powerboat so you push for a speed limit to “make the lake safer”. At what point does your right to kayak anywhere interfere with my rights to enjoy my powerboat at speed?!?

NH law guarantees me that right – it is not something that I just claim. You can still use the entire lake – you just won’t be able to legally exceed the speed limit. There is no law the gives you the “right” to travel on NH lakes at unlimited speeds.

Bicycles are not allowed on the interstate highways for a reason; they’re a slow-moving vehicle in close proximity to fast-moving vehicles. This is the same as a kayak or canoe in a wide open area on the main lake where powerboats could be travelling at higher speeds. Instead of a speed limit, maybe it’s time slow-moving watercraft were restricted from certain parts of the main lake (like bicycles from the interstate)!!

Lakes are not part of a high-speed transportation network. The main lake is not a private race area for high-performance power boats - it is for everyone to use – and it would be wrong to divide the lake up into sections for different types of boats – and a nightmare for the MP to enforce. You are also forgetting that paddlers were actually here first. There is no good reason for me not to be able to use my sea kayak on the entire lake – other than the fact that a few powerboaters feel that their “right” to travel at unlimited speeds is more important that the rights of others to use the main lake.

I have no problem with people pursuing an activity they enjoy so long as they are willing to accept the risks associated with it. It annoys me when someone wants to do something but they don’t want to accept the risks involved with that activity (fearing something will happen to them) so they lobby for a law in an attempt to make it safer for them. Afraid the parachute won’t open? DON’T GO PARACHUTING!!! Are you a kayaker that fears being run over by a powerboat (ANY powerboat)?? Then don't go in areas frequented by powerboats!

I accept the risks involved with kayaking on large lakes – but that does not mean that I have to just sit back and let a few high-speed powerboaters make the lake unsafe for paddlers – because of their selfish needs of traveling at unsafe speeds.

You are putting assumptions upon your statement. The FACT is that no one has taken you up on your challenge. The reasons are not yours to assume or postulate without proof. . . . If I did happen to kayak, I’d be more than happy to go with you but I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to keep up with you since we all know how fit and healthy you are and I’m not. Besides, I thought the whole idea behind the “challenge” was to see who had the cojones to go out kayaking with you, not who was stronger and faster!

I made my kayak-with-me challenge because there were way too many people on this forum stating that my fears were unfounded – or were greatly exaggerated – when they had never even paddled on the main lake. If members of the opposition were as open-minded as they claim to be, someone would have been willing to actually try paddling with me. When did I ever say that I would not wait for a slower paddler? Despite what many here may think of me, I’m actually a very nice person and would never invite someone to kayak with me and then just speed off ahead of them. I would NEVER get very far away from an inexperienced kayaker, in case they were in need of my help.

And finally, if YOU have so much courage, why push for a speed limit? Just go out kayaking and get your thrills. If you love kayaking in open water where there’s a possibility of you being run over by a powerboat (like in The Broads), THAT’S the risk YOU have to assume!!

I can (and do) get all sorts of thrills without putting my life in danger. I broke my leg last semester on the sailing team (my captain creamed me – totally by mistake) – and I’m returning to the sailing team this semester – so I’m very used to taking risks. NCAA athletes have to sign all sorts of release forms – stating that we accept the physical risks of participating in our sports. But I should not have to accept being put in danger (of being killed) – just because a few powerboaters don’t have the sense to travel at reasonable speeds – THAT is NOT a risk I should have to accept.

I didn’t know laws were also being voted on based on FEAR. That's not what this country was built on.

This law is based on a safety issue (even if the opponents refuse to admit it) – and there are tons of laws that are based on safety issues.
I have spoken out mostly because I saw how paddlers were effectively being forced from paddling on the main lake – just because of the actions of a small percentage of powerboaters. Yet you and many other powerboaters who claim that the speed lime will force GFBL off the lake don’t seem to have any trouble with paddlers being forced off the main lake.