Thousand Islands Safe Boating Association

Early Summer 2000

Dear River Residents,

I am writing to you on behalf of the Thousand Islands Safe Boating Association (TISBA), to tell you about our organization, and to tell you what we have been doing

TISBA was founded in 1987 by a group of River residents, in response to the rapid growth in the number of people and boats on the River, and the resulting issues of traffic and noise. Many people were new to the area, and were new to boating. The St. Lawrence River had undergone a major change.

The result was an interest on the part of residents in understanding what the issues were, and to try to do something to improve the situation. That remains the goal of TISBA today.

Since then, however, we have seen even more growth, and of a different kind. More boats are on the River than ever, with many arriving by trailer to spend the weekend, or maybe just the day. They are here solely for the use of the River as a recreational facility, not as a place to live. Unlike the first wave, these weekend boaters don’t live here and are not members of our community.

While TISBA has many long-standing members, who have been in leadership positions throughout — most notably Alden Russell (who also serves with the Coast Guard Auxiliary), Bob Kent and Ginny Sramek — TISBA has undergone many changes over time, particularly in the past two years when Tony Mollica, Trey Vars and John McCullough joined the Board. Not long after that, and sadly for all of us who knew them, two of our most long-standing members, Phil Maphey and Don Petit, both passed away, and John McCullough became TISBA’s President.

We spent most of the past two years just trying to understand some of the issues, and why some of the problems we have on the River have persisted. There is unbelievable noise from boats running without mufflers, high speed operation well in excess of any reasonable speed, much less the legal speed limit (which is 35 MPH/15 MPH (day/night) in the Narrows). Often the largest and fastest boats have a general disregard for boating safety and courtesy in the form of huge wakes, speeding close to smaller boats, cutting people off, etc.

Anyone who has spent Fourth of July on the River has seen all of this. Many of us simply will not go out at night if it involves a long boat ride.

This is simply not right.

Now as to WHY. It took us a while to determine why we have this problem

We have laws after all. We have the State Police. We have the Park Police. They have boats. They have people. What is the problem?

After many sessions with the various parties involved, our conclusion is simply this: enforcement of boating laws is not a priority on anyone’s list. The State Police own boats, but have virtually no manpower available to operate them. The Park Police are also short–staffed, and overburdened with an enormous geographic area to patrol. They simply do not have enough people.

The result is that noise and speed regulations are not enforced.

Thanks to a group of people on Wellesley Island who started a petition last Summer asking that the Police enforce the Law, we have brought this issue to the attention of our Representatives. They agree that our position is not unreasonable. They respond to public outcry when it is raised, and they support our position that we are entitled to live under the laws of New York State in the Thousand Islands.

Assemblyman Robert Nortz, Senator James Wright, and Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro have pledged serious attention to the enforcement of noise and speed laws during the summer 2000. They will work with the State Police and the Park Police to make sure they have enough resources to enforce the law.

This is truly a great first step!

We need members. We need to be able to show our Police and elected Representatives that this is a broad – based issue; that we represent the majority of the residents on the River; and that the majority is strongly in favor of enforcement of the law, which would increase boating safety and improve the environment for all of us.

There is much more work to be done. TISBA has pledged to further the education of people as to what the laws are, and what our recourse is when we see violations. We are planning increased advertising, prominent signage, and a pamphlet for broad distribution. For those of you who have skills in any or all of these areas, we would appreciate your help.

And — most important — return the enclosed envelope. PLEASE BECOME A MEMBER!!!

Sincerely,

John McCullough
Thousand Islands Safe Boating Association, Inc.