To the Editor:
Having been on Lake Pennesseewassee for 58 years, I kept thinking at some point boaters would finally “get it,” but that has not happened. If you are within 200 feet of shore, you cannot go faster than headway speed. You cannot create a wake. That is the law in Maine.
Over the years I have talked with boaters and it is surprising how many do not have an understanding of the word “wake.”
Many more do not understand the definition of “headway speed.”
Trying to make it simple, a wake could be compared to a series of small or large waves. Headway speed is going just fast enough to control the boat and still move forward.
Violating these laws can be dangerous to folks on their docks, the boats tied up to those docks and people in the water around their docks. Not to mention the damage it does to the shoreline. Why do you think there are so many floating platforms and buoys in front of people’s docks? Safety, safety, safety.
Thomas Jenkins
Norway
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