NYCkayaker 5 Boro: Three more motor boats

[Graeme Birchall]

Erik;

 > Now the CG wants four safety boats

Maybe it is time to protest this madness.  I went up to Pier 96 on 
Sunday morning – only to find that the Downtown Boathouse public 
kayaking program had been closed down by the CG on account of the tug 
boat race that was about begin.  So I got into my own kayak and paddled 
out to the end of the embayment to take some pictures.

The staff in the CG cutter on patrol obviously had no clue as to what 
constituted safe kayaking in NYC.  I was well out off the channel, and 
clearly indicated that I was not going anywhere.  But they kept yelling 
at me on their loud speaker that I was "going to have trouble", and that 
my situation was "unsafe".  I ignored them and instead played with my 
expensive (non-waterproof) digital camera.

After a few minutes the race began and the tugboats churned by.  They 
kicked up a nice wake that at the edge of the embayment was at most 3ft 
high, but probably less.  The wake was barely observable back at the 
dock.  So I bounced up and down a bit and got some nice pictures – 
except for when for the CG cutter parked directly in front of me in 
order to "protect me".  The biggest wakes, which were still no bother, 
actually came from CG cutter - when they ran off to take care of the race.

The waves generated by the tugboats were smaller than those encountered 
in the Pier 96 embayment on a windy day.  And they were much less that 
what are often encountered out on the harbor, let alone in the ocean.

As we all know, the CG are the self-proclaimed experts at water safety 
in this country.  Yet they were obviously out of their depth on Sunday 
morning.  I'm not sure what the problem was, but I suspect that they 
thought that even tiny swells were a hazard for kayakers.  If they keep 
believing this, and keep acting accordingly, they will eventually drive 
all organized kayaking activities off the harbor.  This will actually 
make the harbor less safe for kayakers, so it not a situation that we 
should encourage.  I'm open to suggestions as to how we can educate the 
CG on this issue.  Comments please...

Graeme Birchall