7357-R2_LSLA_2020_WinterNewsletter

Safety Patrol Program 2020 From Sharon Lamontagne, Director

Put simply, it was busy out there! During this unprecedented season, we saw firsthand how appealing being on the water can be. Mainers stayed close to home this year and we saw a huge uptick in the number of boats being launched, including novice drivers and new visitors to our lake, all just looking for a bit of normalcy, nurture and nature. So many of us had relatives and extended families move in for the summer, trying to stay healthy and looking for comfort in this troubling time. Our lake offered that coveted stress relief, but there is no denying that sharing it with so many caused new challenges for us all. But I am happy to report that we managed with no major accidents or incidents. The Safety Patrol was out on the lake a total of 450 hours from Memorial Day to Labor Day. We spent mornings at the boat ramp, where we greeted new visitors, offering advice, life jackets and information. We distributed two cases of whistles, lake maps and educational materials. We also handed out the newly produced Navigational Guide specific to Little Sebago. We towed a total of seven boats to safety, jump started six, and provided fuel to three. We also had numerous calls and complaints from residents regarding reckless and nuisance behavior, incidents of driving too close and too fast within 200 feet of shore, harassment of wildlife, and other offenses. We responded as needed and did what we could. We have limited enforcement authority but we do at least try to reason with and educate the offenders. Thank you Roger LeBlanc, Steve Sayan, Kate Martin and John Bernier for your dedication to the program. For the enforcement piece, we added extra patrols from the Warden Service and increased our lines of communication with them. We hired them for a total of 20 days this summer and they filled 15 of those days. Due to staffing problems, poor weather and emergency situations, five shifts could not be filled. They stopped 876 boats which is a striking 318 more than last year in the same number of days. They wrote 19 citations and 60 warnings. We were able to communicate with them regularly, advising them where the hot spots were or the

repeat offenders. By mid-August they managed to apprehend and fine the repeat offenders and things seemed to calm down quite a bit towards the end of summer. The citations issued were: - 10 for not enough personal floatation devices - 3 for unregistered vessels

- 3 for headway speed violation - 3 for towing without an observer The warnings were: - 35 for unregistered vessel - 19 for equipment violations - 1 headway speed violation - 5 towing without an observer

They also responded to a crash involving the collision of two jet skis which involved minor injuries. And they covered an alcohol poisoning incident at the boat ramp where they assisted in administering first aid and helped get the person safely off the lake. Considering the unbelievably beautiful weather, the huge increase in population on the shores, and increased number of boats on the water, I think we managed to have a safe and successful summer on Little Sebago Lake. Yes, there were increased headaches including nuisance jet skiers, larger wakes impacting our shores from newer deep-water boats, and crowded channels and throughways, but we did okay for ourselves. It is important to keep our complaints and troubles in perspective. Comparing ourselves to the rest of the country and even the world, we should all appreciate where we are and be grateful for calling this magical little piece of earth our summer home.

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