Be #WakeAware

(Reproduced with permission from FOCA)

Cottage country boaters, lake associations, and marinas from Lake Erie to Sudbury to the Thousand Islands are all pledging to Be #WakeAware this boating season.

You can too.

Closed borders and isolating away from urban centres led to huge increases in the use of Ontario’s waterways over the past two years, and new ‘staycationing’ incentives will keep the heat on cottage country this year. There were nearly 200,000 new Pleasure Craft Operator Cards (PCOCs) issued in 2021, after a peak of 237,000 issued in the first year of the global pandemic! That is a lot of new boaters on our waterways. We all can’t wait to be back on the water this season, but let’s do it safely and responsibly. Let’s all pledge to Be #WakeAware.

Why is wake an issue?

Boat wakes can be a danger to swimmers, canoes and paddleboarders, and can swamp loon nests at the shore. According to a University of Windsor study published in the North American Lake Management Society’s journal, Lake and Reservoir Management, wake generated by recreational boats has the potential to erode the shoreline, damage infrastructure like docks, and disrupt aquatic ecosystems. Over one summer season on Whitestone Lake in Ontario’s cottage country, the authors wrote, “recreational boat wakes accounted for ~61% of total wave energy” at the study site.*

How to be #WakeAware when boating

Potentially damaging wakes are caused by plowing boats leaving a boat launch or marina, or sudden  deceleration or turns near shore. Look behind your boat to ensure you minimize the impact of your wake on shorelines and docks. Always travel at a safe speed near shore and when approaching narrows, and watch your wake to minimize the impacts to others.

Boaters need to be aware of the size of their wake during displacement (travelling low in the water) and transition (with the bow up) to getting on plane (coasting with little drag). Position passengers throughout the boat to reduce the time spent in transition and get on plane as soon as possible. Take waterski, surf and wakeboard fun 200 metres or more away from shorelines. These are small changes that have a big impact and are at the core of what it means to  Be #WakeAware.

About the Be #WakeAware campaign

The Be #WakeAware campaign was launched in 2021 as a joint initiative of the Muskoka Lakes Association (MLA), Safe Quiet Lakes (SQL), and the Federation of Ontario Cottagers’ Associations (FOCA). The campaign prompts boaters to watch their wake impacts and move any ‘big wake’ fun to an appropriate area of the lake, far away from shorelines.

This year, marina operators across Ontario are coming on board as #WakeAware Marine Ambassadors to spread the word at the water’s edge to new and long-time boaters. Dawn Campbell of Balsam RPM in the Kawarthas was one of the first to sign on to the campaign. “A lot of people don’t realize when they whip out of here,” she says, “how much damage their wake does to docks and other boats.” All marina operators are encouraged to join the campaign, and pledge to spread the word by signing up here: https://www.bewakeaware.com/#marine-ambassadors.

Here’s where YOU come in

Everyone who loves Ontario cottage country is encouraged to  learn  more  about  wake  impacts  in  a quick one-minute video posted to the campaign webpage:https://www.bewakeaware.com/. Then, share the news with your fellow association members and friends. Use the hashtag #WakeAware on social media, and remember to thank your local marina when you see them proudly displaying their Marine Ambassador sign. If your local marina is not on the Marine Ambassadors list yet, talk to them about why they should be!

Together, we are all part of the solution for waterfront Ontario.

* journal citation above: “Relative importance of recreational boat wakes on an inland lake”, C. Houser, A. Smith, J. Lilly, Lake and Reservoir Management, 2021, Vol. 37, No. 3, 227-234.

The Lake Association Needs Your Help!

My husband and I joined the Lake Association very soon after we built our retirement home on the rocky shore of the East basin of Loughborough Lake.  It was the beginning of a period of discovery – learning about septics, water quality, wildlife and how blessed we were to live in such a beautiful semi-wild spot in Ontario.  As city dwellers in the past we had a lot to learn!

The Lake Association members welcomed us and we gradually learned the ropes.  We have made life long friends and have learned how we are all part of the lake environment which is ours (briefly) to protect and preserve.  Our little part of the planet that we are looking after.

I am hoping you might be encouraged to join the Lake Association executive.  Our time on the Board is coming to an end and the Board needs new members to carry on the work of the Association.  Board meetings are virtual so you can be almost anywhere in the world and still interact.  Your life and your appreciation for your great fortune to spend time at the lake will be magnified.

Please give joining the Board some serious thought. Contact us at presidentblla63@gmail.com if you would like to talk with a Board member about what you would like to see or could offer as a Director.

Turtles, turtles, turtles!

One of the wonderful things about living on the lake and driving the road in the month of June is seeing the turtles. They seem to have an amazing way of knowing when we are going to have a good rain and so out they come to lay their eggs. A couple of weeks ago, as I drove along the North Shore Road, I saw several turtles – as you can see, the Snapping Turtle was busy laying her eggs, and another more relaxed painted turtle was just out for a little walk…..of course, it was right in the middle of the road so I got out and gently persuaded it to continue across to the safety of the grass.  A neighbour carefully put a cover over eggs that were laid on their driveway – This way, rain and sun can get to the eggs, but no raccoons will be able to dig them up! With luck in a couple of months we will have some baby turtles.

Water Quality in Loughborough Lake

Name Change

How complicated could it be to remove the name “Battersea” from our corporate name of Battersea Loughborough Lake Association? It turns out that for the simple change intended, it was not a quick process. Your Lake Association got caught up with all the hoopla and rigmarole of the corporate – government interface. 

The Lake Association has been known by various names over time. It started as “Battersea Loughborough Association” in 1963. It was changed to the current name “Battersea Loughborough Lake Association” in 1983. During the year 1994/95, the Board did a survey of the membership regarding deleting Battersea from the Lake Association name. A result in support of changing the name was obtained but it not acted upon – for unrecorded reasons. 

There continued to be more discussion over the years. The latest, back in October 2019, was in response to another Membership survey. The directors were assigned the task of establishing what had to be done. At first, we felt that we should proceed with the help of lawyers to assist us with getting this change made. The information provided by them was that all Lake Association members had to be contacted with the details and that they would sign, supporting the idea (or not) and return their vote to the Lake Association. 

This wasn’t going to be easily done. The members of the Lake Association are a wide spread group, some of them living at the lake but also a large percentage living away from the lake and some not even in the same province or country. Some could be contacted through meetings of neighbours by board members but many would have to be done by post. The potential difficulties – including those for the return of the signatures and the collection of the vote - were going to be complicated. We needed another way to collect a vote more in keeping with the diversity of our membership. For lack of understanding how this was going to be done, the 2020 AGM passed by without being able to advance the name change process.

Meanwhile another problem had cropped up. The Lake Association is required to inform the province of the make-up of the board of directors and the executive of the corporation. The association had been sending off forms annually of the current board to meet this requirement. The expectation was that the government would discard the prior year board information and use the new list. Well, it doesn’t work this way. Although it is not clearly stated, the government is more interested in the changes to the board – Joe has left and Jane has signed up. A side effect of this recording method is that Joe might have been on the board for three years. Different people would have filled out this annual form and they could have used the name Joseph in place of Joe. The Ontario government took this information and processed it to show that we now had two “Joes” on the board, differing only by the formality of the first name. The same happened if Jane moved to a different address – again there were two board members created when the new address was submitted. Of course, not appreciating how this was done, an announcement of a retirement of a board member would only remove one member from the list of directors – the other would live on in the records of the Ontario government. The records still took a couple of attempts to clear up, even after our improved understanding of the process.

Since the original proposal to get the votes of all Lake Association members was not going to be feasible, it was decided, somewhat desperately, to review the Ontario government Corporations Act to see if a vote could be collected differently. After some looking, we found that the Lake Association could make a “special resolution” to have the name changed at a meeting “duly called for that purpose”. Our annual general meeting could be used to do that, getting away from the need to get and gather every member’s signature. Notices were sent out to every member for whom we had valid addresses. The members who attended the 2021 AGM voted on the name change proposal during the meeting. After some discussion, the resolution passed unanimously.  

The last hurdle was that the government was going to an on-line system for corporations to interact with the government. Our paper based name change submission was summarily returned to us saying that we could resubmit on-line after setting up an on-line identity. There was a silver lining to this process; because this was a new system there was extra help available to see how the public would interact with the process. We were able to talk to a person (!) about what we needed to do; this helped to remove potential missteps. Our proposal was submitted on-line in late November 2021 and after talking to another person again (!) in January 2022 to see if there was some hold-up, we learned that the name change had been accepted.

Welcome to the new/old Loughborough Lake Association!

Clean - Drain - Dry

The following article is condensed from a booklet published by FOCA titled “A Shoreline Owner’s Guide to Invasive Species” and the Ontario Government Boaters’ Action Plan

The Ontario Government on January 1, 2022 has regulated watercraft which includes boats, canoes, kayaks and stand up paddleboards (SUP) as a possible carrier of invasive species under the Invasive Species Act.

All boaters are now required to take the following steps BEFORE TRANSPORTING OVERLAND any watercraft or boat equipment like a trailer, fishing tackle...

1. Remove or open drain plugs to allow water to drain from the boat or boat equipment.

2. Take REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS to remove all aquatic plants i.e. WEEDS, ANIMALS and ALGAE from any boat, boat equipment, vehicle and trailer.

At this point it must be pointed out that this regulation has no teeth, so if you do not comply there are no fines. The Government is relying on boaters' willingness to "do the right thing" to protect our lakes and waterways from aquatic invasive species. In Loughborough Lake we already have Zebra Mussels and Eurasian watermilfoil and possibly others and once they are in a lake they are impossible to remove and difficult to control. Preventing further invasives from entering our lake is paramount.

It is now ILLEGAL to place a boat into any Ontario body of water if there are any aquatic plants, animals or algae attached to it. This regulation recognizes that it may not be possible to fully remove all plants, animals or algae BUT there are some relatively easy ways to clean your boat and equipment. Note that if you only boat on Loughborough Lake and do not take your boat to any other waterbody you do not have to undertake the cleaning procedures.

WordSearch 2022

BLLA Survey Summary Report

The BLLA Board of Directors launched another membership survey early in the new year to learn about the initiatives our membership would like us to pursue. This is what you said:

Respondents: 53% are full-time residents, 42% are seasonal, 94% are BLLA members and 6% unsure

Association Initiatives:

Survey results for Association Initiatives, 2021

BLLA social media: Only 65% of respondents were aware of the BLLA social media pages. 83% said they would prefer to receive BLLA information, such as articles, stories and pictures, digitally.

Comments and Suggestions:

Survey results, Comments and Suggestions, 2021

We thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us and encourage you to stay in touch. For those of you not aware of our social media platforms, please take a minute to find and follow us on Facebook and Instagram. We are pleased to make the transition from paper and post to digital, in response to the survey. If you haven't already shared your email address with us, please do so at presidentblla63@gmail.com.