Cooperative spirit key to peace between sea kayakers, boaters

Wow! And Ouch! There’s no mistaking the shiners sea kayakers got in the past week, first from a confab of harbor masters and rescue personnel in the southern part of Maine, and then from boating bureaucrats attending the 2003 Northern Association of Boating Administrators meeting at the Bar Harbor Regency.

One frustrated harbor master a week ago Wednesday in South Portland called sea kayaks the ATVs of the ocean (now that’s getting pretty down and dirty).

Meanwhile in Bar Harbor on Monday, a gaggle of bureaucrats from other Northeast states took paddlers to task for using public launch ramps and not “paying into the system.” The feeling is that owners of canoes, rowboats and kayaks should pay a registration fee, and those funds would then go into the state and federal coffers that are used to maintain and build launch ramps.

I suppose then we could feel free to leak gasoline and oil into our waters, just like the powerboats, and throw out some plastic bleach containers, beer bottles and oil cans to boot. And then while we’re feeling franchised, why not feel free to have a convention at the launch ramp. And since we’d be paying for the privilege of using our public waters, why not tie up dock space and party up a storm, just like our big brothers?

OK, I’m being sarcastic.

We’ve all got to learn to coexist, and courtesy is where it all begins. The water is ours to share – big boat, little boat, powerboat, sailboat, rowboat and (gulp) even Jet Skis.

The trick is to do it cooperatively. The trouble comes when some of us don’t play well with others. A gaggle of kayakers doesn’t need to hog a launch ramp any more than some doofus with a powerboat who can’t back up a trailer or can’t seem to aim his overpowered cruiser back onto the trailer. I’ve watched both events happen. The difference is you can advise kayakers that they should get themselves ready away from the ramp and then launch in an expeditious manner. Try telling that to some oversized horsepower freak who is in his 10th unsuccessful attempt at driving the Queen Mary onto its submerged trailer.

On the water the story’s not much different. As kayakers, we’re regarded as nothing more than a speed bump by many powerboaters, an inconvenience by others.

I used to think paddling a kayak was fun, a great way to explore the coastline. I left no trace of my passing, I enjoyed watching urchins (there are a few left despite the fact that they’ve been overharvested), starfish and other life in the sea. And I enjoyed showing this to others as we glided near the shore, bouncing around in the wakes and waves. Occasionally we’d even get up the nerve and actually cross a channel, waiting our turn so as not to be in the way of the powerboats plying the harbor.

We’d cross as directly and quickly as possible so we weren’t in their way. And on the other side, we’d skirt the shore, out of everybody’s way, but not their wake. Occasionally we’d stop on a public beach and stretch, being careful not to tread on environmentally sensitive zones. Maybe we’d sit in the intertidal zone and have a sandwich and sip a drink, being careful not to drop anything. And then we’d depart to explore some more.

Maybe we’d go around one of the twin islands and check out the beach on the northeast end where inevitably we’d find lobster shells, corn cobs and a charred fire pit, remains of the most recent cookout by locals who motored over in their boat loaded with friends, dogs and beer. If you opt to stop here, don’t pick up that soda bottle with the yellow liquid in it lying there on the beach. It’s not ginger ale. And those tissues dotting the landscape? Don’t go there, they signal land mines.

It could be that the pompous, overbearing boating administrator from away who took on kayakers last Monday was right. Bring kayaks under the umbrella of boating. Charge us a registration fee. I’m up for it. With my franchise paid, maybe I won’t feel guilty about trashing our coastline or fouling our waters. Maybe I won’t feel compelled to volunteer with the folks at Maine Island Trail Association who have toiled for years to foster good island owner-boater relations, and who annually have cleaned up the 100 or so islands on the now-famous water trail both spring and fall. And when I get to the next launch ramp, I will feel no compunction about taking my own sweet time getting out of your way, because I’ll have purchased my right to do so. And those seven Leave No Trace principles? Heck, there’ll be seven less things I’ll have to remember.

Seriously, though, that overbearing guy did have a point. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of everybody helping out when it comes to keeping open the access to water and to keep those who use the water safe. If it means that paddle sports participants need to pay a share, that’s fine with me.

As it stands now, most launch ramps in the state are funded through the Wallop-Breaux Aquatic Resources Trust Fund that is funded through the Highway Trust Fund. Excise taxes from motorboat fuel sales and fishing equipment, import duties on fishing equipment, yachts and pleasure boats, interest earned on the funds and excise taxes from gasoline used in small engines make up that fund.

Wallop-Breaux funds last year were divided into the small-boat safety account ($59 million), the U.S. Coast Guard ($5 million) and the sport fish restoration account ($322 million). The trust fund also established the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971, which has helped cut the fatality rate for recreational boaters from 29.2 deaths per 100,000 registered boats to 5.4 per 100,000 nationwide. That’s impressive.

So the next time you’re launching your kayak from a local ramp and begin to have negative thoughts about powerboaters, just remember that without the funds generated by powerboaters through the fuel tax and excise taxes on boats and fishing equipment, that ramp might not be there. And don’t hog the ramp.

If you’d like to know something about the ecology of the Gulf of Maine, why not go to the Down East Chapter of Maine Audubon’s next meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 19, at the Unitarian Church on the Bucksport Road in Ellsworth. Rich MacDonald and Natalie Springuel, both of Bar Harbor, will show slides and talk about the Gulf of Maine expedition they completed with two Canadian friends last year. The five-month kayak expedition took them from Provincetown, Mass., to Nova Scotia to raise awareness of the ecology and culture of the Gulf of Maine. MacDonald and Springuel will share their experiences through a slide-show presentation focusing on the challenges they faced, their educational mission, the diverse natural history, the issues and the people of the gulf. For more information, contact Maggie Williams at 326-8055 or mwilliams@maineaudubon.org.

While you’ve got your calendar out, June 21-22 is the date for L.L. Bean’s 22nd annual summer paddling event, which is now called the PaddleSports Festival and is held in Freeport at the store. There will be on-water lessons, demos, tours, boat testing, paddling, camping and fishing clinics for all skill levels and guest speakers. Paddling clinics include boat selection, dressing for paddling, packing your kayak and planning an expedition. Demonstrations include fly tying, knife sharpening, family camping, global positioning systems, bike maintenance, wildlife sculpting, decoy carving, family camping essentials, camp cooking, archery and fly casting, Leave No Trace and canoe building. There is a long list of family fun events and several authors will be on hand to sign books.

For more information on this two-day event, call 888-919-2326.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynewls.net.