It’s no secret that I’m not in favor of speed limits on Lake Winnipesaukee, here in NH. No one has ever presented me with statistical evidence to me that high speed alone on the Big Lake have resulted in the accident rates that the "It’s just a liquid road" crowd would have you believe. Trust me, it’s not a small lake by ANY means, like Squam Lake, where the "shhh, quiet!" crowd won the fight of "Your noisy boats offend me; I will get Government to outlaw anything bigger than a putt-putt".
Jet Skis Personal Watercraft were set up as being the spawn of Satan – ranking right up there with Twinkies, sugary soda, and Happy Meals as dangers to our Republic. In that case, I’m not sure which loons were which…
Sorry to inform you folks but I think the "slower is better" crowd have to keep making the emotional appeal, including Rusty McLear, a local hotelier, who said…
"Beauty, tranquility, serenity, relaxation,”…“This is what New Hampshire markets.”
…simply to win the argument. Danger all about – unless they do as we want. That’s what his biz model sells. I have no problem in him doing what is best for his business – and he is quite good at what he does; great for him (really!)!. And it seems to be what many other businesses are doing nowadays; not merely competing merely in the free market but going to Government to lobby for rules, regulations, and laws that provide an enhancement to their business over others. Economists call this "rent-seeking" – the use of Government to obtain either a monetary or marketplace advantage.
Lest anyone think I’m picking on Rusty (I’ve met him, briefly; he seems to be a good guy); let me assure you, I’m not. Heck, compared to some, his lobbying efforts are hardly a sniffle – GE’s Jeffrey Immelt has THAT gig all sewn up big time, being BFWO (Best Friends With Obama), dontcha know.
Anyways, I wrote this ("Letters doodlings – a terror zone on Lake") a bit ago, and my friend Chan over at Weekend Pundit left a comment on it – so I’ve decided that since I have no actual dog in the fight (not owning a boat, but only blogging as it seems to be more of a Freedom issue than an actual danger issue as some would have you believe) to promote the comment up. Why?
Well, he’s been plying these waters for 30 years – a bit of experience, I would posit (full disclosure: he’s has had TMEW & I on his runabout in the past…..a grand total of…er…once (heh!)). He says this about the "No Fun Faster than 45 on Winnipesaukee" crowd:
While I haven’t been as vocal on this issue as I might have, I believe I must now comment.
First, let me state that I have plied the waters of Lake Winnipesaukee for over 30 years. In all that time I have seen an excessive speed ‘incident’ once, and that was perpetrated by someone under the influence of way too much beer.
While claims about the speeds of boats being too high and ruining the ambiance on the lake have made again and again and how it threatens the safety of everyone out on the lake, those making those claims have chosen to ignore the real problem, one the law already covers.
Under New Hampshire law boats are supposed to…
drop to headway speed (meaning the minimum speed required to maintain control) or 6mph when within 150 feet of the shoreline or other vessels. It is a law that is ignored again and again (30 years of observation and experience are all the proof I have, which doesn’t make any less valid). If the Marine Patrol were able to enforce it most of the problems attributed to ‘excessive speed’ would disappear. (Unfortunately the MP can’t be everywhere at once, so violations do go unenforced.) It isn’t that boats are going too fast, it’s that they’re going too fast too close to others. The speed limit bill did nothing to solve the problem, despite claims by its proponents to the contrary.
Some have made the statement that they’ve seen the effects of the speed limits on the lake and deem it good. However I have a different explanation: fewer people have been spending time on the lake over the past couple of years. Between a poor economy and higher gas prices (during the summer of 2009 gas on the lake topped $4/gallon), people weren’t spending as much time on the lake. Therefore traffic on the lake was lower. (I can attest to this as more than once in 2009 my family and I headed out on to the lake just past noon on a Saturday only to find very few other boats on the lake. We were able to cross The Broads without being pounded black and blue by wake-driven chop….because the water was a smooth as glass. The speed limits had nothing to do with it.) With the economy still in the tank and gas prices on the lake likely to pass $4.50/gallon, I think we’ll find another summer with lower than normal traffic on Winnipesaukee.
