Illinois Outdoors

Articles

Practicing Boating Safety is Worthwhile by Don Dziedzina
Articles >>

Owning a boat brings a lot of fun for the entire family. What brings that fun to a screeching halt is when there is a boating accident. It also gets to be quite frustrating when boaters are having problems at the ramps, causing a back up for launching or getting off the water at the end of the day.

I recently went on a fishing trip on the Illinois River. With the price of gas nowadays, I wanted to stay close so elected to launch at the Seneca Ramps. They’re found on the north side of the Illinois River just as you reach the south edge of town.

The Seneca ramps seemed to be the wise choice only because the next closer ramp would be at Stratton State Park in Morris off Rt. 47. The ramps there get really nutty with pleasure boaters and jet skis because there’s plenty of parking, the park being right there and it’s is closer to the south suburbs.

It was a welcome site to see at 8 AM that there were only three other tow vehicles with trailers at the Seneca boat ramp lot. This would be good. I drove a few extra miles west on I-80, but saved myself from fighting a lot of boat traffic; or so I thought.

I fished with Ray Ludkevicz who co-hosts the Fishing Line and Outdoor Radio Show with me every Wednesday night. We had a decent start by catching a few fish. But as the clock ticked, more and more boats started to appear on the river.

There’s no problem with having boats on the water. The river is there for everyone to enjoy. But it becomes a real problem for me when boaters fail to follow the rules and throw caution to the wind.

It was very discouraging to see that jet skis would zip around the back of boats to jump the wakes. Boats pulling tubers didn’t seem to seek secluded portions of the river so that they can safely maneuver and not worry about children falling off the tubes in front of other moving boats.

For fishing, Ludkevicz and I were able to fish some spots that were well off the beaten path, but when traveling from one location to another in the main channel of the river; it was like being in a war zone. On a couple occasions, we had pleasure boaters fly by us at about forty miles an hour and being only about twenty five feet away from our boat.

I’m not worried about the boat getting swamped. We were in Ray’s nineteen foot Ranger. What I was concerned about is if Ray decided to turn toward a fishing spot, there could have been a major collision.

We decided to leave the water early because there were too many boaters who were lacking in displaying common courtesies, boating safety or observing signs that say “No Wake”.

We saw so many tubers and jet skies traveling at thirty to forty miles per hour causing major wakes in every no wake zone by the harbors located between Seneca and Marseilles. No wake means that the boat should be operated at idle speed causing no wave action.

The Illinois DNR offers safe boating classes and more people should attend them. Safe boating classes are also available online. Boaters can go to www.dnr.state.il.us and click on the Boating link and find all sorts of good information on safe boating and classes. These classes will help teach boat owners about operation on the water and at the boat ramps.

We have many boating weekends coming up and it’s never to late to learn more about boating so that it can be enjoyed safely not only for you, but also others using the waterways.

These lessons are important for both boaters and anglers who use the water. But for the anglers right now, I’d recommend getting on the water at sun up and plan on calling it a day by 9 AM when fishing areas where the water is shared with pleasure boaters.

Everyone should use caution when on the water and always wear a personal flotation device while underway. Statistically speaking, the number of boating accidents here in Illinois is down from previous years. I think that the Illinois DNR’s strong push on boating safety through education and enforcement is making a difference, proving that their efforts are working.

Have fun on the water, but remember; stay safe.

- Back to Index of Articles -

• Back To Top Of Page •

• Site Navigation Map •