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Old 04-18-2018, 12:23 PM   #235
Great Laker
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City: Spring Lake, MI
Vessel Name: Great Laker
Vessel Model: American Tug 34
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 346
Earlier I wrote about multiple CG boardings in Jacksonville, and raised questions about the appropriateness of this use for training, and questioned if this was a good use of government resources. It was not a complaint about the legality or an indictment of the process. I have another observation regarding enforcement of regulations and safety procedures and believe it is related to the subject of this discussion.

We live on a 7 mi long lake which joins a river with access to Lake MI. Because this is a port city, it is maintained by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) (piers and dredging), a home port for CG ships (life saving and patrolling), and subject to local ordinances by the city and township (safety, speed and wake limits). It is popular for local boaters and a frequent stopover for Great Lakes cruisers.

The good news is we are fortunate to have lots of opportunities to take family and friends on cruises even when Lake MI is blown out. The bad news is a boater here must be knowledgeable of multiple regulations which are overlapping and sometimes conflicting, and especially on weekends may be stopped and detained multiple times by the CG or Sheriff or both. This is good to enforce intoxicated or unsafe driving, but bad if these are random choices with few findings just to check a box.

Example 1: While the CG requires a wakeless speed entering or departing the river from Lake MI through the piers, it has no speed limit on the river beyond that. On the other hand, the city requires a wakeless speed for the first two miles as you go up the river and it is not posted.

Example 2: The CG has no speed limit on our lake, but the township requires boats longer than 26 feet to be wakeless and this is not posted. Plus, it is inconsistent that wakeboard boats under 26 feet can throw a 2-3 ft high wake at low speed without issue, while someone over 26 ft can be stopped and fined for a 2" foam curl.

Especially on weekends, there are multiple Sheriff and CG boats patrolling. It is not unusual to be stopped once and on occasion twice on the same day. The most popular thing is to see if there are enough life jackets for each person on board.

Bottom line is that as captains we must be aware of and comply with regulations where ever we cruise, however, the government regulations and enforcement activities should be reviewed periodically to see if they are appropriate and effective.
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Larry
American Tug 34 - Great Laker, and Gold Looper
Home port on the vast unsalted Lake Michigan
adventuresofgreatlaker.blogspot.com
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