Boaters: Yes We Can

By Barb Hansen

February 2009

Sour economic news comes in daily on the computer, and it pains me especially to learn of doors shutting and jobs lost in the boating industry. The boating "industry," in case you didn't know, does not consist of huge publicly-traded companies. Mostly it is many thousands of family-run companies.

The good news is that while circumstances may be bad for our industry now, I believe we will get the welcome news of a turnaround in boating before many other sectors. Why?

Because boating companies are resilient. But, really, it's because boaters are resilient.

Think about it. We boaters are used to weather delays, saltwater showers, and even "meals" concocted from emergency rations in the almost-empty galley locker. We know how to "make do" when there's a hiccup in our plans.

This economic hiccup – and that's what it is in the big scheme of things -- plays right into our strengths as boaters.

We are Independent. Industrious. Efficient. That goes for our companies, too. They don't need a bailout. They don't want a bailout. They are not sinking. What they need is something that we can give them. Our business.

We just need boaters to help boating firms, just like boaters help boaters in need at sea with a tow or a spare part, just like cruisers help cruisers by sharing food, water, fuel and free advice.

Boaters have always been a close-knit community and boating has always been an activity that brings families and friends closer together.

We boaters have come together during difficult times in the past. We can come together now.

Take a boating vacation. Go to dinner at your favorite dockside watering hole.

Don't put off those boat repairs any longer. Call on your local boat mechanic or shipwright.

Visit your local marine retailer. Check out the latest in marine electronics, deck shoes or galley gear. Make a donation to your community's junior sailing program.

Do it for yourself. But appreciate the fact that you are also helping the companies we boaters will need next year and the year after that.

This is a teaching moment, the perfect backdrop to teaching our kids about our world, our environment, self-sufficiency and personal responsibility. It's also an opportunity to remind ourselves that no man is an island, especially in our industry.

Because you know, deep down, that government can't do it. But, you can. We can.

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Barb Hansen is proprietor of the yacht chartering and instruction firms Southwest Florida Yachts and Florida Sailing & Cruising School in North Fort Myers, Fla. Contact her at info@swfyachts.com, phone 1-800-262-7939 or visit http://www.swfyachts.com/

JOIN THE GREAT LAKES BOATING FEDERATION NOW!

With no one at the helm of the recreational boating industry, the Great Lakes Boating Federation is stepping up to make sure that the concerns and interests of recreational boaters are heard. JOIN NOW!

The Great Lakes Boating Federation is the voice of recreational boaters on the Great Lakes and all of our America’s inland waterways. Whether we’re lobbying Washington politicians and bureaucrats on behalf of freshwater boaters or providing our members with discounts at boating related businesses, the GLBF exists to serve you, the boater.

Unlike some national organizations, we believe that, to be truly effective, a boating organization must be willing to advance boater’s interests on a local, state, and regional level. The Federation is committed to defend boaters against any harsh and undue regulations affecting their ease and pleasure of boating. There are 4.3 million registered boaters on the Great Lakes, and the GLBF stands to give them a strong, unified voice.

The Federation is also committed to providing member discounts at the best vendors and providers of boating products and services. By partnering with businesses, we are able to provide privileges to our members while supporting the local economy.

One third of all boaters in the United States call the Great Lakes home. We are a major staple of the local economy, spending $16 billion annually—money that supports American and Canadian businesses. Joining the GLBF membership supports both the organization and its cause, helping empower boaters specifically in the Great Lakes region. Boaters of the Sweetwater Seas can create a force to be reckoned with, if we act now and join together as one.

Join at any of our three levels and help save boating on inland waterways.

• Free Membership: If you are already subscriber to Great Lakes Boating Magazine or Sailing Magazine, membership is free.
• $10 Membership: Receive full member benefits without the subscription.
• Deluxe Membership: $25 gets you full benefits: a magazine subscription, a decal, and a membership card.

As an individual member of the GLBF you will join other boaters in immediately receiving the following benefits for Deluxe members.

• A way to voice your thoughts on boating issues affecting you and your fellow boaters
• A way to present a unified front to present opinions to appropriate national, regional and governmental officials
• Up-to-date information on all proposed regulations and legislation affecting boaters
• A complimentary 12-month subscription to either Great Lakes Boating magazine (6 issues) or Sailing magazine (12 issues)

www.greatlakesboatingfederation.com/membership

Waukesha cuts water use 11%, seeks more restrictions

Water use in Waukesha dropped more than 11% in a three-year water conservation push, and the city is seeking state permission for further rate-structure changes to penalize high-use residential water customers.

Conservation and rates are important to Waukesha for two reasons. The city needs costly reductions of radium levels in its water supply; and to eventually receive Lake Michigan water as a new clean source, Waukesha needs to have effective conservation measures in place.

Customers most affected by rate charges would be owners of single-family homes and duplexes. The new rate structure could be in place as early as April 1, Waukesha Water Utility General Manager Dan Duchniak said.

Residential customers now pay $1.95 per 1,000 gallons when quarterly usage is 30,000 gallons or less. Surpass that threshold, and the rate rises to $2.20 per 1,000 gallons.

The utility wants to slash the quarterly threshold for the higher rate in half to 15,000 gallons, Duchniak said.

Residential customers, on average, use 22,000 gallons per quarter, said Nancy Quirk, the utility technical services manager.

The residential base is the heaviest water user, surpassing industrial and commercial, which follow different rate structures, Duchniak said.

The rate system, dubbed a conservation rate structure, is the opposite of the typical utility, which generally charges a lower rate as use rises.

The state Public Service Commission is studying the request, and public hearings will be held later. The price of water for each 1,000 gallons also will be set by the commission.

The utility is considering rewarding customers who keep quarterly usage to 15,000 gallons or below by reducing the price to less than the current bottom tier of $1.95 per 1,000 gallons, but that benefit cannot be determined until the commission completes its study, Quirk said.

The price of water for those exceeding 15,000 gallons likely will go up, she said.

"Probably, the majority of our customers will see a slight increase because we're still paying for radium compliance," Quirk said.

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France claims rights to Lake Michigan shipwreck

The French government says it still owns the Griffin, a 17th-Century ship built by legendary explorer La Salle that may have been discovered in northern Lake Michigan.

France filed a claim to the vessel Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, escalating a legal battle over who owns and has authority to retrieve artifacts from the long-lost vessel.

Michigan also is seeking title, although state officials have raised doubts about whether the Griffin’s gravesite actually has been found. They say federal law gives the state ownership of abandoned vessels embedded in its Great Lakes bottomlands.

A private group, Great Lakes Exploration LLC, located what it contends may be the Griffin’s wreckage in 2001. It wants to be appointed custodian until the courts determine ownership and salvage rights.

The precise site has not been publicly revealed, but is believed to be between Escanaba and the St. Martin Islands, near Wisconsin.

The Griffin (also spelled “Griffon”) disappeared on its maiden voyage in 1679 after embarking from an island near Green Bay, Wis., with a crew of six and a cargo of furs and other goods.

France filed paperwork with the court this week to meet a deadline for avoiding loss of rights to the ship, a spokesman for the French embassy in Washington said Thursday.

The claim is based on documents showing the fatal expedition was undertaken on behalf of the French crown and was not a private venture, the spokesman said.

Steve Libert, spokesman for Great Lakes Exploration, backs the claim. “Michigan isn’t fighting just me any more. They’re fighting the country of France,” he said.

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$43 Million Ottawa River Cleanup Agreement Signed

In about two years, the Ottawa River will run cleaner due to a cost-sharing agreement signed Friday between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Ottawa River Group.

The Ottawa River Group is a partnership of the City of Toledo and businesses along the river, including Allied Waste Industries Inc., Chrysler LLC, E.I. duPont Co., GenCorp Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Illinois Tool Works Inc., and United Technologies.

The parties agreed to a $43 million cleanup of contaminated sediment in the river. Contamination in Ottawa River sediment is a primary cause of state advisories against eating fish from the river and from Maumee Bay.

Costs will be equally shared between the EPA, using funds provided by the Great Lakes Legacy Act, and the Ottawa River Group

Arising in southeast Michigan, the Ottawa River flows for15 miles through northwest Ohio. It drains an area on the Ohio-Michigan border along the eastern and northern fringes of the city of Toledo, goes through Ottawa Hills, and empties directly into Lake Erie.

The poor water quality results from runoff and discharge from industrial sites, landfills and sewers and from the river's form and structure, since it has a slow flow.

The funding agreed Friday will cover the dredging of about 270,000 cubic yards of sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals from a 5.6 mile stretch of the river.

There are some hot spots in the river containing hazardous levels of PCBs, so about 25,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment will be dredged and taken to a specially licensed facility for disposal.

This part of the cleanup is expected to reduce the mass of PCBs entering Lake Erie.

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Shipping industry runs short of young mariners

Long a symbol of romance and adventure, the seafaring life is attracting fewer young adults these days, creating a worsening personnel shortage for those hauling cargo across oceans and the Great Lakes.

Some shipping companies have told the U.S. Maritime Administration that the problem has forced them to dock or even sell vessels. Others said it has kept them from expanding fleets, or caused delayed voyages and lost contracts.

A cross-section of the maritime industry has been affected to varying degrees, from oil tankers and bulk cargo haulers to tugs, barges and ferries.

"It's not limited to any region or any nation. It is a global challenge," Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton said.
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That includes the Great Lakes, where ships carry iron ore, coal and limestone to factories and pick up Midwestern grain for transport overseas.

"We look to hire four to six new officers every year, and every year we can't get them," said Ed Wiltse, vice president of operations for Grand River Navigation, which has five cargo haulers.

Wiltse prefers officers trained especially for the Great Lakes, but sometimes must hire saltwater vessel operators on a short-term basis. "We've had to fly in people at the last minute from Florida or Seattle and get them to a ship so it can leave," he said.

The situation has been developing for years and has many causes. Some point to licensing and training requirements that have gotten tougher, along with beefed-up safety standards and greater use of computers and other technology.

"The days of people just being able to jump on a ship and get a job are long gone," said Glen Nekvasil, spokesman for the Lake Carriers Association, a trade group representing Great Lakes shippers.

With international commerce picking up, more goods are being transported by water, so there are more job openings. Stepped-up offshore oil exploration is boosting demand for ships and crews.

And the work force is gradually aging, as veteran mariners retire and fewer young people get aboard. Many in the industry say going to sea has less allure for youths than in previous generations.

One turnoff is spending months at a time away from home.

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Arctic Ice Fest this weekend

The City of Sandusky Recreation Division has partnered with the Maritime Museum of Sandusky, Erie County Senior Center, Erie MetroParks, Friends of Erie MetroParks, Sandusky Sailing Club, BAS Broadcasting and Battery Park Marina to present the second annual Arctic Ice festival 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 7 and Sunday, Feb. 9 in downtown Sandusky.

Professionally carved ice sculptures will be on display throughout the weekend. Many of the sculptures are being carved by Elegant Ice Creations owner, Aaron Costic, World Champion ice carver and winner of the 2006 Olympic Gold Medal and 1998 Olympic Bronze Medal for Professional Ice Carving.

The sculptures are sponsored by the Maritime Museum of Sandusky, Lake Erie Shores and Islands, Lake Erie Towing, Vacationland Federal Credit Union, and the Sandusky Yacht Club.

Live carving demonstrations will take place on both days. The EHOVE student Ice Carving Club, led by Chef Michael Edwards, will carve sculptures beginning at 11 a.m., Saturday, and Elegant Ice Creations will perform a 4-block ice carving demonstration at 1p.m., Sunday. Live carving demonstrations will take place in the parking lot in front of the Maritime Museum of Sandusky located at 125 Meigs Street in downtown Sandusky.

The Maritime Museum of Sandusky will be open both days of the event with a reduced admission of $1 each day which includes museum viewing and entrance for the speaker's forums. There will be multiple speakers throughout the weekend including Mark Cowles: "A Brief History of the Great Lakes Railroad Car Ferries" 1 p.m., Saturday at 1pm, Julie Bauerschmidt, Erie MetroParks Naturalist: “How Do you Know It's Winter” 1 p.m., Sunday and Neil Allen, Director of Maritime Museum: “Winter on Sandusky Bay” 3 p.m., Sunday.

The Erie MetroParks will have a “Critters in Winter” Touch Table located inside the museum.
Youth admission includes an ice boat craft model.

The Friends of Sandusky's Underground Railroad Education Center will be hosting two Underground Railroad Trolley Tours 11 a.m. and noon, Saturday.

The cost for this tour is $5 per person. Reservations are encouraged by calling 419-624-0274.
The Erie County Senior Center will present their popular annual “Soup Cook-Off”. The soup cook-off will take place 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Saturday from. The soup entries will be available for tasting at $2 per serving until all of the soup is gone.

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