Garrison Hilliard wrote:
Last Update: 3:02 pm

Reported by: Richard Chiles
Photographed by: Michael Benedic
Web produced by: Alyssa Bunn


Tri-State boaters planning to enjoy the holiday weekend on the river have
been warned to be careful where they make waves.

Jerry Taggert has been boating for 40 years. As this year's boating season
gets underway on the unofficial start of summer, Taggert said he is glad
more attention is being paid to to wake regulations. He thinks that tougher
enforcement of the no-wake rules may make Ohio River boating safer for
everyone.

"The slower you're going, the more time you have to stop. You don't stop a
boat like a car. You gotta see whats out there," said Taggart.

The current regulations create a "No-Wake" zone from sunset to sunrise
between the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge and the Brent Spence Bridge.

Taggert said this rule is crutial to keeping boaters safe. "At night, from
dusk to dawn, they shouldn't be going much faster than idle because you
don't know whats out there in the water," he explained.

Many other Ohio River veterans agree with Taggert.

"There's so many boats that want to come Downtown and see the sights. They
just need to be controlled a little bit more," said Dan Henson of Manhattan
Harbour.

Signs mark the zone currently enforced by Kentucky police agencies. Those
responsible for river safety said the no-wake law saves lives.

"That's a congested area between the bridges Downtown, with barges coming
out of the Licking River. It's not a place where people should be running
through wide open throttle," said Jim Barrow of the Cincinnati Fire
Department.

Many boaters agree that the rush of big, fast-moving water craft can cause
many problems, including stirring up dangerous debris against docks and
rocking smaller vessels on the water.

"The no-wake close to restaurants is a courtesy. It shakes the boats. It's
a hazard of somebody falling in the river," said Barrow.

"It causes a lot of problems for the smaller boats... they'll rock. If
they've got a lot of kids on it, they really need to slow down," warned
Barrow.

People who work and play on the waterfront are in agreement that no-wake
laws are a simple solution that can help avert a tragedy.





http://www.wcpo.com/news/local/story...1-ccb6cab20b0b

In Minnesota, the St Croix River has the most stringent no wake laws. Studies have shown that wakes are the single greatest source
of shoreline erosion on the river.

Wake laws apply to Minnesota lakes as well. It is a pretty broad definition, but it is unlawful to:

"To operate a watercraft so that its wash or wake endangers, harasses, or interferes with
any person or property."

I have a cabin on a small lake in northern Minnesota. It sits on a point and I would lose about a half a foot of shoreline a year
to erosion. Most came from wind induced wave action, but being a small lake, nearly every power boat would induce a wake which
would further erode the shore. I finally solved the problem and lowered my blood pressure at the same time by rip-rapping the
shoreline with rock. Hoisting 40 tons of rock was easier than trying to educate the power boat crowd to watch their wakes.

Wakes are simply another symptom of the same old problem: People concentrate too much on themselves and have very little concern
for others.

Blakely LaCroix
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA