I did write to my represntative...if that will do any good.
Jay
For those of you who are interested, I am forwarding this message from Ned Ahlborn, manager of Brewers in Mystic. I attended the Harbor Management meeting on Thursday night (2/5) and was flabbergasted by the lack of impetus for this measure. When asked what prompted this bill in the first place the harbormaster responded that he was sick of his phone ringing and angry people complaining about people going too fast. That was the #1 reason we were given, I’m not making it up . You can get the minutes and check for yourself. He cares a great deal about the river, does a good job in my opinion, and I do understand his frustration, but this bill is not going to solve that problem. The existing rules are difficult to enforce because of the lack of personnel and vessels that are actually on the water on any given day. That is a funding problem. We were told Stonington patrol boat only has enough funding to be on the water for 12 days of the summer. All this bill will do is turn us all into lawbreakers (technically ) nearly every time we leave and enter the River. Remember it’s 6mph ! Not a no wake rule. I would venture to say that one of the biggest reasons we all enjoy boating is the sense of freedom that comes from being on the water , away from some of the common burdens we face every day. This will just be one more small reminder that there is another passenger (government regulation: DMV, DEP,EPA,COAST GUARD,STONINGTON PD,GROTON PD,HARBOR MANAGEMENT, SHELLFISH COMMISION,) on your boat with you and they are getting bigger all the time. Pease take a minute and look at the attachment Ned has included. He has also included a link below to contact your State Representive if you would like to let them know how you feel.
Best regards,
Christian
From: Ned Ahlborn [mailto:nahlborn@byy.com]
Sent: Saturday, February 07, 2009 11:11 AM
To: Christian McGugan; masonsislandmarina@comcast.net
Subject: FW: HB05476 I'm sending this out to my customers Monday morning. What do you think?
To Our Valued Customers;
There is a bill ( http://www.cga.ct.gov/2009/TOB/H/2009HB ... R00-HB.htm) pending in the state legislature that needs your attention. It concerns greatly expanding the 6mp/no wake area of the river to include the channel from the spindle at the mouth of the river east to Masons Point, and areas out past Mouse Island, and over to Groton Long Point. Please see attached chart, the spindle at the mouth is the green dot and the red lines are the proposed new boundaries where everything north will be included.
The guise of safety is being used. However, in 23 years on this river I am not aware of one accident resulting in bodily harm occurring on the waters of the Mystic River and Harbor that this new law would have prevented. Also, most of you know that there is only sporadic and ineffective enforcement of the existing law. If this bill passes, it will not only add 5-10 minutes to your trip anywhere, it will also divert what little resources could be available to enforce the limit in the existing zone to the new area where historically there has been no limit.
Please call, write, or e-mail your Representative immediately to let them know that you are against changing the status quo that has worked for decades. Let them know that what we need is enforcement of the current speed limit, and to make funds available for that purpose.
If you do not know who your State Representative is, please follow the link below and type in your zip code. http://www.votesmart.org/mystate_govern ... 5&go2.y=12
Tell them to vote no on House Bill 5476!!
Thank You for Your Time,
Ned
Ned Ahlborn
General Manager
Brewer Yacht Yard at Mystic
56 Roseleah Drive, Mystic, CT 06355
860-536-2293
