July 2020 Newsletter - Watch Your Wake, Noise, and Be Safe

OUR MISSION: Make the Muskoka lakes safer and quieter to ensure the sustainable enjoyment of a treasured shared resource

July 2020 Newsletter -

Watch Your Wake, Noise and Be Safe

Chair’s Message

Hello and happy July! Summer is officially here and the weather could not be better for activities on the lake!

In this month’s newsletter we are happy to update you on our key initiatives along with a very thoughtful article on Sharing the Space written by one of our board members. Please feel free to distribute this article to anyone you feel might be interested.

We are also super excited about our upcoming webinar with the Muskoka Lakes Association. We hope that you can join us for “Wakes, Speed and Noise” on Thursday, July 16th at 4:30. The webinar is free and will provide you with more information about how we are addressing the key concerns we hear about. To register click here.

In last month’s message I invited everyone to share a story or picture that represented Safe Quiet Lakes to you. Thank you Sheldon Posen of Lake of Bays for sharing your song! It’s fantastic and so much fun. Here’s a link so everyone can enjoy!

Warm regards and stay safe,

Diana Piquette

Chair, Safe Quiet Lakes

Share the Space

Safe Quiet Lakes Director, Greg Wilkinson wrote a timely opinion piece on Personal Watercraft and sharing space on our waterways with boaters, paddlers, and swimmers.

On a Sunday morning in July a collision took place on Lake Muskoka and a man died. Unfortunately for the OPP who are responsible for patrolling our waters, that isn’t a shocking report or even that surprising. In fact, three people died in Ontario lakes that weekend and all of those deaths are important to learn from and all of the families involved deserve sympathy and privacy to deal with their loss.

The Lake Muskoka fatality pains me in a particular way. The man who was killed was either rowing or paddling a kayak, two things I often do near our family cottage. Although the investigation is ongoing, media reports indicate he appears to have been killed in a collision with a personal watercraft (PWC), a Jet Ski or SeaDoo. An average kayak weighs less than 20 kilograms; the average PWC close to 400. The potential speed a kayak could sustain with an average paddler is well under 10 km/hr while many PWC’s are capable of traveling over 100 km/hr. In a collision that’s a serious mismatch.

To continue reading Greg's full article click here

Wakes and Speed Pilot Project

The Wakes and Speed Pilot Project has been moving along steadily in the last few months just in time for the large volume of boats and personal watercrafts using the Indian River to travel to Port Carling this summer.

We want to remind everyone that there is a speed limit of 9km and therefore minimal wake within 30 metres of shore, another vessel, docks and boathouses, and of course swimmers.

Two new No Wake buoys are now in place in the pilot project area. Twenty-five 9km/hr VORR signs have been distributed to residents and are in the process of being installed on docks, boathouses, and trees.

We conducted a focus group on a No Wake sign design late last month and found it did not have a strong enough message to boaters. We are now in the redesign process and hope to have the last component of the pilot project in place soon.

The radar speed device, owned by the Muskoka Lakes Association, installed in the Foreman Narrows on June 1st has experienced some technical problems but we hope for resolution soon.

Don’t forget to watch your wake!

-Colleen Kennedy, Wakes and Speed Project Lead

Safe Quiet Lakes Director Colleen Kennedy and her family launching a buoy on Mirror Lake last week.

Decibel Coalition

Decibel Coalition Gaining Support

We now have a few key lake associations in Ontario formally join the Coalition, including the Muskoka Lakes Association, Georgian Bay Association, and the Lake Joseph North Association. The Memphrémagog Conservation Inc. in Quebec has also joined.

In the last few months, we have developed a logo for the Decibel Coalition and an informational postcard seen below, on the legal requirements for mufflers and Captain’s Choice devices in Canada.

We have a list of over 40 potential stakeholders from across Canada that we are contacting to inform them about the Decibel Coalition. If you would like to learn more about this initiative or receive a copies of the informational postcard on mufflers and Captain's Choice devices please emai l [email protected]

-Rob Bosomworth, Chairman of the Decibel Project

Summer Campaign: Join us in helping to keep our waterways safe

Our programs are powered by the generosity of the community of lake users. Your support helps us to expand our reach to bring our message of safe and respectful sharing of the lakes to all boaters. Help us keep our programs afloat by making a donation.

CLICK HERE TO DONATE TODAY

Have questions? I would be happy to talk to you about how your donation makes a difference. Contact me at [email protected]

-Nancy Cohen, Fundraising Chair

About Safe Quiet Lakes

Safe Quiet Lakes is a not-for-profit community group of boaters that promote safe, respectful boating.

We believe that positive, grass root conversations and education are important drivers of change. We created the Boater’s Code to help get the conversation started.

We launched a new video this past year about our programs. Please click the image to watch it.

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