You will be fortunate in everything you put your hands on.
but will the other guy?
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
the river is open to recreational traffic
per Mr Sullo with the St Louis Coast Guard office, the river is open to recreational traffic "for now". there is a wake restriction for mile marker 79-138 but that is well below all of us. thanks again to St Louis guys. they have been so awesome!
Illinois River Maps
for those interested: http://www2.mvr.usace.army.mil/NIC2/ilwwcharts.cfm?index=3
our day marker is 179.0 so you'll need to do the math if you want a higher or lower marker for yourself.
our day marker is 179.0 so you'll need to do the math if you want a higher or lower marker for yourself.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
we have babies
Update
It didn't go exactly as planned and she took ALOT longer than we thought. but Momma and kids finally left the nest at 5:30 this morning (Wed, 27th). This was the only shot we were able to get cuz the flood made it much easier for them to slip away. good luck guys and, as usual, we'll miss you!
more photos to come. mom is off the nest right now "talking" so they should be on their way in about 2 hours i'm guessing. lucky for us i have today off so i'll try to gets pics as they leave.
It didn't go exactly as planned and she took ALOT longer than we thought. but Momma and kids finally left the nest at 5:30 this morning (Wed, 27th). This was the only shot we were able to get cuz the flood made it much easier for them to slip away. good luck guys and, as usual, we'll miss you!
more photos to come. mom is off the nest right now "talking" so they should be on their way in about 2 hours i'm guessing. lucky for us i have today off so i'll try to gets pics as they leave.
Friday, May 22, 2009
No Wake Zone
thank you Darin for the info:
(625 ILCS 45/57) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 3157)
Sec. 57. Restricted areas. No person shall operate a watercraft within a water area that has been clearly marked by buoys or some other distinguishing device as a bathing, fishing, swimming or otherwise restricted area by the Department or a political subdivision of the State or by an owner or lessee of property in accordance with his or her rights to the use of the property, except in the manner prescribed by the buoys or other distinguishing devices. This Section shall not apply in the case of an emergency, or to patrol or rescue craft.
No person shall operate a watercraft within 150 feet of a public launching ramp owned, operated or maintained by the Department or a political subdivision of the State at greater than a "No Wake" speed as defined in Section 512 of this Act. Posting of the areas by the Department or a political subdivision of the State is not required.
The Department and other political subdivisions of the State may, within their discretion and after issuing an administrative rule in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, designate certain areas by proper signs to be bathing, fishing, swimming or otherwise restricted areas, or eliminate, alter or otherwise modify existing areas. The Department or a political subdivision of the State shall further have the authority in order to fully carry out the provisions of this Act to place signs, beacons and buoys in designated areas controlling the flow of traffic.
It shall be unlawful for any person to deface, move, obliterate, tear down, or destroy, in whole or in part, or attempt to deface, move, obliterate, tear down or destroy any buoys or signs posted pursuant to the provisions of this Act, except as authorized by the Department.
(Source: P.A. 92651, eff. 71102.) (625 ILCS 45/512) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 3157.5)
Sec. 512. A wake is defined as a movement of the water created by a boat underway great enough to disturb a boat at rest, but under no circumstances shall a boat underway exceed 5 miles per hour while in a posted "No Wake" area. "No Wake" areas shall be clearly posted with buoys or appropriate signs except as provided in Section 57 of this Act. All buoys or signs posting "No Wake" areas shall meet the specifications as prescribed by the United States Coast Guard or the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
(Source: P.A. 89445, eff. 2796.)
(625 ILCS 45/57) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 3157)
Sec. 57. Restricted areas. No person shall operate a watercraft within a water area that has been clearly marked by buoys or some other distinguishing device as a bathing, fishing, swimming or otherwise restricted area by the Department or a political subdivision of the State or by an owner or lessee of property in accordance with his or her rights to the use of the property, except in the manner prescribed by the buoys or other distinguishing devices. This Section shall not apply in the case of an emergency, or to patrol or rescue craft.
No person shall operate a watercraft within 150 feet of a public launching ramp owned, operated or maintained by the Department or a political subdivision of the State at greater than a "No Wake" speed as defined in Section 512 of this Act. Posting of the areas by the Department or a political subdivision of the State is not required.
The Department and other political subdivisions of the State may, within their discretion and after issuing an administrative rule in accordance with the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, designate certain areas by proper signs to be bathing, fishing, swimming or otherwise restricted areas, or eliminate, alter or otherwise modify existing areas. The Department or a political subdivision of the State shall further have the authority in order to fully carry out the provisions of this Act to place signs, beacons and buoys in designated areas controlling the flow of traffic.
It shall be unlawful for any person to deface, move, obliterate, tear down, or destroy, in whole or in part, or attempt to deface, move, obliterate, tear down or destroy any buoys or signs posted pursuant to the provisions of this Act, except as authorized by the Department.
(Source: P.A. 92651, eff. 71102.) (625 ILCS 45/512) (from Ch. 95 1/2, par. 3157.5)
Sec. 512. A wake is defined as a movement of the water created by a boat underway great enough to disturb a boat at rest, but under no circumstances shall a boat underway exceed 5 miles per hour while in a posted "No Wake" area. "No Wake" areas shall be clearly posted with buoys or appropriate signs except as provided in Section 57 of this Act. All buoys or signs posting "No Wake" areas shall meet the specifications as prescribed by the United States Coast Guard or the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
(Source: P.A. 89445, eff. 2796.)
okay, it's not that hard if you try
so this has been quite the education and i've been pleasantly surprised by the cooperation of multiple people i've talked to today. and now i have a better idea where to go for what i need. as i said, Anita from IVY Club was super helpful and verified my thought that boat clubs take an active interest in educating their members. and i just spoke to Jerilyn (sp?) at East Port Marina who echoed the same thoughts. she added, as you'd expect, that there's really nothing they can do to stop someone from going out. and we wouldn't expect they could. she also clued me in to the DNR site for the official press release that gives just a little more info - like the fine(s) for violating this. so check the newest release out!
but i was really surprised when i spoke with Petty Officer Shuey (sp?) with the Coast Guard Sector Office in St. Louis. he reiterated what i'd already learned and stressed how serious they take it. guess there was someone this week that went out and got their cruiser stuck in the middle of the river.....THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER....and they are laying into that one. and as the press release states, the fines range from $32,500 to $250,000 for violating the closure. WOW! oh, and the number to report that to is 314-269-2332 for those interested. St. Louis works with the local DNR and as Shuey put it, they will be out in full force this weekend and working with local law enforcement. i'm running our of WOW's!
one last note: as Jerilyn told me, remember this is ALL recreational traffic. KAYAKS INCLUDED!!! so does that mean i can't leave for work when we're flooded? can't take TheMonsters for "bi-ness"? well, it does mean we can't check out the islands during a flood and the premise being, not the wake, but safety. i can live with that!
but i was really surprised when i spoke with Petty Officer Shuey (sp?) with the Coast Guard Sector Office in St. Louis. he reiterated what i'd already learned and stressed how serious they take it. guess there was someone this week that went out and got their cruiser stuck in the middle of the river.....THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER....and they are laying into that one. and as the press release states, the fines range from $32,500 to $250,000 for violating the closure. WOW! oh, and the number to report that to is 314-269-2332 for those interested. St. Louis works with the local DNR and as Shuey put it, they will be out in full force this weekend and working with local law enforcement. i'm running our of WOW's!
one last note: as Jerilyn told me, remember this is ALL recreational traffic. KAYAKS INCLUDED!!! so does that mean i can't leave for work when we're flooded? can't take TheMonsters for "bi-ness"? well, it does mean we can't check out the islands during a flood and the premise being, not the wake, but safety. i can live with that!
they don't make it easy to find
in the spirit of curiosity, and as a follow-up to multiple conversations this week, i spent over 3 hours just to find this little blurb:
B. ZONE 7 (MM 145.6-180.9 ILR) IS IN THE RECOVERY PHASE FOR HIGH WATER CONDITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ILR WAP ANNEX. ALL TOWING VESSELS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PUSHING INTO OR LAYING UP ON LEVEES AND ARE REQUESTED TO TRANSIT THIS ZONE WITH CAUTION AND AT THE SLOWEST SAFE SPEED TO MINIMIZE WAKE DAMAGE ESPECIALLY PEORIA (MM 165.5 - 178.0 ILR). ALL RECREATIONAL VESSEL TRAFFIC IS PROHIBITED FROM TRANSITING IN THIS ZONE.
btw, the day marker South of us is 179.0.
so where did this all come from? well, every time we flood, and there is a river closing, there's still those few boaters that insist on going out. so several of us have wondered this week, how that information gets out. i must say, for someone not versed in terminology, agencies, etc., i didn't find locating this info easy at all. i had ideas of where to start only because of nacho. but without that head start, i don't know that i would have had the patience to find it by myself - course that's my issue isn't it? and it is not safe to assume that just cuz you own a boat, you know boating - didn't the Hardin boys teach us anything?
so then i got to thinking, why don't they handle this like the beaches back home? you go to the beach and you know it's dangerous surf, and in some cases prohibited to go in the water, based on the flags displayed. well, actually, they do distribute the info. as Anita from IVY Club was so kind to discuss with me. she said that someone from the Coast Guard came and gave them a press release - most likely the full release that i pulled the above info from. she also said to keep their members informed, they make copies of the release and post it in various places at their club (bar, door ways, etc.) and spread it word of mouth. i asked if she finds most members heed the restrictions and she said "yes". of course i guess i could have asked her if they do anything to stop people from leaving port, but i didn't think of that and i guess you can't really stop someone from boating on a closed river. i do have a similar call into East Port Marina so i'll be interested to see what they have to say. and it's got me thinking about posting notices at our club. i like to think all our members are pretty versed, but you never know! of course, when the river's closed, the club is so flooded you couldn't get a boat in anyway, but it's not really fair to expect something from other clubs that we don't hold up ourselves. that's called a double standard people!
probably the biggest point is as someone living on the river, i've bought into a certain lifestyle and culture - ignorant or informed. and i've finally accepted that it's not really the fault of boaters for creating a wake when my place is flooded. blame the Coast Guard for not shutting down the river in some instances. but that's just your opinion an not necessarily reason enough to shut down the river. and, as nacho reminded me, a No Wake Zone is only150 feet from the signage (although i have yet to find the definitive word on that distance but i'll keep looking for that one). while the ultimate argument seems to be that most people lack common sense and courtesy, there's no test or sign for that. and after boating for about 10 years with nacho, i am starting to support the notion that you should have to take an exam and get a license to operate a boat. but as the Journal Star pointed out the other day:
B. ZONE 7 (MM 145.6-180.9 ILR) IS IN THE RECOVERY PHASE FOR HIGH WATER CONDITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ILR WAP ANNEX. ALL TOWING VESSELS ARE PROHIBITED FROM PUSHING INTO OR LAYING UP ON LEVEES AND ARE REQUESTED TO TRANSIT THIS ZONE WITH CAUTION AND AT THE SLOWEST SAFE SPEED TO MINIMIZE WAKE DAMAGE ESPECIALLY PEORIA (MM 165.5 - 178.0 ILR). ALL RECREATIONAL VESSEL TRAFFIC IS PROHIBITED FROM TRANSITING IN THIS ZONE.
btw, the day marker South of us is 179.0.
so where did this all come from? well, every time we flood, and there is a river closing, there's still those few boaters that insist on going out. so several of us have wondered this week, how that information gets out. i must say, for someone not versed in terminology, agencies, etc., i didn't find locating this info easy at all. i had ideas of where to start only because of nacho. but without that head start, i don't know that i would have had the patience to find it by myself - course that's my issue isn't it? and it is not safe to assume that just cuz you own a boat, you know boating - didn't the Hardin boys teach us anything?
so then i got to thinking, why don't they handle this like the beaches back home? you go to the beach and you know it's dangerous surf, and in some cases prohibited to go in the water, based on the flags displayed. well, actually, they do distribute the info. as Anita from IVY Club was so kind to discuss with me. she said that someone from the Coast Guard came and gave them a press release - most likely the full release that i pulled the above info from. she also said to keep their members informed, they make copies of the release and post it in various places at their club (bar, door ways, etc.) and spread it word of mouth. i asked if she finds most members heed the restrictions and she said "yes". of course i guess i could have asked her if they do anything to stop people from leaving port, but i didn't think of that and i guess you can't really stop someone from boating on a closed river. i do have a similar call into East Port Marina so i'll be interested to see what they have to say. and it's got me thinking about posting notices at our club. i like to think all our members are pretty versed, but you never know! of course, when the river's closed, the club is so flooded you couldn't get a boat in anyway, but it's not really fair to expect something from other clubs that we don't hold up ourselves. that's called a double standard people!
probably the biggest point is as someone living on the river, i've bought into a certain lifestyle and culture - ignorant or informed. and i've finally accepted that it's not really the fault of boaters for creating a wake when my place is flooded. blame the Coast Guard for not shutting down the river in some instances. but that's just your opinion an not necessarily reason enough to shut down the river. and, as nacho reminded me, a No Wake Zone is only150 feet from the signage (although i have yet to find the definitive word on that distance but i'll keep looking for that one). while the ultimate argument seems to be that most people lack common sense and courtesy, there's no test or sign for that. and after boating for about 10 years with nacho, i am starting to support the notion that you should have to take an exam and get a license to operate a boat. but as the Journal Star pointed out the other day:
- While the state requires education courses for persons 12 to 17 years of age, statistics show the majority of accidents actually involve older boaters who are not required to take any safety classes.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
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