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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-04-17, Page 101 0 Lakeshore Advance • Wednesday, April 17, 2013 Boaters pull up stakes to go to other harbours -1 CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 1 By 1908 there was a flour- ishing fishing industry with A.W. Selkirk Fish Company of Port Huron (Michigan) send- ing a tug three tithes weekly to collect fish catch. Sailboats to empty pound nets were com- mon sights. Cub Manore and Syrtis Green learned of Grand Bend's fishing opportunities with the Tiedemans, Gills, DesJardines and other fami- lies all joining the prosperous industry. Local beaches and the abundance of dockage in the harbor and along the Aus- able River attracted boaters from all over Canada and the United States. Recently, the impact of the low lake levels on those who live on the Great Lakes is becoming dramatic. Even with the recent rain, the prob- lems are more long-term, ranging from reduced snow- fall around Lake Superior, to evaporation from less ice cover in winter, to dredging of the St (:lair River many years ago that has increased the outflow from Lake I luron. The low levels will continue to be an issue and at this point at least 20 boaters from Grand Bend have moved to other harbours. A big portion of our tourism economy is now in jeopardy because of the dra- matic drop in Lake Huron's water level. "The economic impact this harbor has on the community is strong. And when things are slow, the gro- cery stores, the restaurants, the hardware stores- everyone suffers," say many of the boat- ers, some of whom are leaving Grand Bend's harbour. With the Great Lakes water levels at historic lows, the only way to keep harbors open is by excavating or dredg- ing. But money for dredging has dried up. "You have almost a perfect storm hitting the Great lakes harbors," one boater said. "You've got low water and you've got lack of inaintenance, lack of dredg- ing, lack of infrastructure. You combine those, and you've got situations where we truly face a crisis throughout the Great Lakes, harbor after har- bor, and it's just growing, And it's going to be much worse. And it's going to change, ulti- mately, the way of life and the quality of life throughout the Great Lakes unless some- thing's done about it:' With the probable loss of 16 members at GBYC hind five at the Cruising Club, low levels may not be the only issues these boaters are dealing with. 'lie municipality, in this case l.tunbton Shores, applies to Ausable Bayfield Conserva- tion Authority for permits for dredging. (The ARCA came into existence in July 1946. At that time they were called the Ausahle River Conservation Authority with Port Franks issues being their first.) Every boater the Lakeshore 'lliwywee war. 'Grand Ben ptometry Presents the Frame & Sng1ss, Show , Wednesday April 24, 2013 i lam - 5pm 01.3 Designer Frames & Sunglasses take center stage at our Clinic for this one day show. 'CS sunqlassrove... Refreshments Eye °° 8 ' 1 & More! A , tel" 1 1 i I I 1 a'Inillrifr e 1,-. • •,,,. from the Abs of Lynda Hillman-Rspley Recreational boating has been part of Grand Bend for a long time. Advance spoke to said this was done "probably too late." 'They say the permits should have been applied for last fall, "like many other har- bours dick' The permits are for the river mouths only and that is where Mytoi, and Charlie Miller come in. The municipality contracts thein. Mytoi can only work in pretty calm wilier: They put a post down into the bottom and use a large prop to blow the sand out to the sides of the channel. The next blow pushes the sand hack into the channel, and the dredger can't deal with it until calm conditions prevail again. "it's a very inefficient solution to our channel conditions,' say the boaters; although it appears the municipality is looking at using more sophis- ticated dredging equipment in 2013. The current staff or council cannot be blamed for low water levels, just their too - long delay in dealing with theta" say Grand Rend boat- ers. They acknowledged Lambton Shores are talking about improved dredging, but just as far up river as the launch ramp and other rem- edies. "It's Just a reality that they're months too late." Lake and river levels have been dropping for more than the past year, and fewer boats are visiting Grand Bend because it can he dangerous to enter this harbour in any sort of westerly blow. Worse, by far, say the boaters when dredg- ing hasn't been done. The importance of having a deep channel entrance can't be understated. "imagine if the harbour entrance could always be kept 6 feet deep, which it hasn't. if there are 3' waves out of the west, which are quite common, that means the troughs are only 4 1/2 feet deep while the peaks are at 7 1/2 feet. Many boats could easily bit bottom, with potentially catastrophic results. You don't want to risk it, especially if you have found the channel to be 5' deep or less in calm water." Some of those leaving say they are leaving because they know their slips will be shal- low this year, and based on last year's experience, even It their boat floats in the river most of the time, they're not sure if they will be able to get out on the lake or back safely very often. One frustrated boater said he can't get to the gas docks and that would mean 1,200 gallons. "Lamb - ton Shores has not been proactive on dredging, dis- couraging our members in the 2012 season. Dredging is like an afterthought for this council,' he said. (;rand Bend boaters with a permanent slip can easily spend $350) to $40)0 here on membership and other boat - related expenses, besides groceries and beverages. For 20 boats lost, that figure could easily exceed $80,000 per season. Many of these boaters have been here for years and say Grand Bend is and has always been unique for mari- ners. "Unfortunately it appears council does not understand the impact the harbour has to the economy because if they did, years ago their priority would have been going after funding for new harbour facilities when the government money was there." You have a great beach, downtown, arenas but the "facilities for the boaters are embarrassing" And then there is parking. As one GBYC member explained, "Until a few years ago, we could park in front of our slips overnight, no prob- lem, no charge. Then Lamb - ton Shores initiated the park- ing pass program for River Road, and we paid for annual permits. They began to limit the passes our members could get, suggesting the municipality was being gen- erous in granting GBYC so many passes, considering River Road is terribly congested." No one disagrees that River Road is congested. As one GBYC member put it: "On most weekends, boat trailers block the road down to one narrow lane, against laws and fire regulations. Parking in this manner is not being tick- eted or enforced. it is a frus- tration for any regular resi- dent of River Road. At night, even on long weekends, it's a different story. There is no congestion when parking passes are required, yet our members have been ticketed. You could shoot a cannon down the road. Requests for our members to have more (paid -for!) passes available have met with strong resist- ance from the municipality, who seem to be unable to hear the argument that the congestion issue is a daytime issue." "As a result, we are only able to provide overnight parking permits for about half of our members, let alone any of their overnight guests. For social events with alcohol involved, this sends the wrong message that vehi- cles need to he moved out of the area when they clearly are not in the way." When you take these issues, "which seem to range somewhere between indif- ference and hostility" it's not surprising to find so many Grand Bend boaters looking to harbours that are welcom- ing in more ways than offer- ing deeper water. The har- bours they are moving to have more boaters, and likely that leads to a greater recog- nition of their contribution to the local economy. Grand Bend does not seem to rec- ognize this contribution, according to our boaters. As one noted, "'There will be fewer this year, and we think most who have left will never return"