The Great Lakes Situation

[PerfectPirate]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

Just saw this

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...-kick-n1187136

So, it appears that New York State will be opening marinas. Does anyone yet know if this includes the Great Lakes?


I must confess to being a bit surprised that New York would embrace this economic argument, given how hard they have been hit by the virus. Nobody in Canada appears to be seriously arguing that economic recovery should take precedence over preservation of life.


Opinions, everyone?

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by PerfectPirate

So, it appears that New York State will be opening marinas. Does anyone yet know if this includes the Great Lakes?


I must confess to being a bit surprised that New York would embrace this economic argument, given how hard they have been hit by the virus. Nobody in Canada appears to be seriously arguing that economic recovery should take precedence over preservation of life.


Opinions, everyone?

This should include upstate NY marinas as well. My understanding of the change is that they only decided to make marinas non-essential a couple of weeks ago, but the surrounding states didn't agree. So they all collectively decided that letting the basic functions of a marina operate is safe enough, just keep some of the higher-risk things (like rental boats and charters) shut down.

[Tetepare]

Originally Posted by PerfectPirate

So, it appears that New York State will be opening marinas. Does anyone yet know if this includes the Great Lakes?


I must confess to being a bit surprised that New York would embrace this economic argument, given how hard they have been hit by the virus. Nobody in Canada appears to be seriously arguing that economic recovery should take precedence over preservation of life.


Opinions, everyone?

There is NY and there is NYC. Upstate has done well at social distancing- Oswego county has 53 confirmed COVID cases; Suffolk county on Long Island has 25,000.

So long as the marina bathrooms and TV areas are closed, nobody is close to anyone else anyway. We are smart enough to practice distancing during this period.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by PerfectPirate

So, it appears that New York State will be opening marinas. Does anyone yet know if this includes the Great Lakes?

I must confess to being a bit surprised that New York would embrace this economic argument, given how hard they have been hit by the virus. Nobody in Canada appears to be seriously arguing that economic recovery should take precedence over preservation of life.

Opinions, everyone?

I hope this decision (if indeed it is true) will prove a positive one. Rather, I hope it doesn't lead to an increase in Covid-19 cases. And I hope the Ontario government -- indeed all governments -- are watching.

My opinion remains that boating, and especially cruising, can be done safely and in compliance with physical distancing requirements. Although obviously it is a higher risk than not allowing any boating.

[Kim Gregory]

Toronto area boat club advisory:

I (club management) received an update on the legal interpretation of what being closed during emergency orders means. No person shall enter or use any outdoor amenity except for emergency maintenance, safety, or law enforcement. Therefore, access to the club is permitted only for emergencies or unusual circumstances. I have now received the official letter from the City of Toronto declaring our Club closed until further notice under provincial emergency orders.

The only other exceptions are: (1) directors are permitted to carry out routine checks of club premises; and (2) live-a-boards are permitted on club premises if their boat is their primary residence and they follow all other advisories and restrictions.

Following high winds earlier this week, Ontario Sailing received numerous questions about allowing members to check their boats and covers. OSA has confirmed through legal counsel that the government DOES NOT consider checking a recreational boat to be an emergency. Apparently, the provincial government has liaised with the insurance community and been assured that there is no expectation by insurance companies that members check boats while under emergency orders. Legal advice is no access while under emergency orders.

We have also received updated information of boats for sale. While under emergency orders, boat sales cannot proceed. There can be no access for brokers, potential buyers, surveyors, etc.

Boating Ontario shared as statement from a letter received from the Government of Ontario. The government is concerned about a premature opening of the recreational-boating season. Ontario Sailing had a teleconference with Boating Ontario yesterday. Their message is that we must ensure that no club or marina contravenes or is perceived to be in contravention of any restriction or order. This not only affects an organization’s reputation; it could have repercussions on the reopening of recreational facilities. A complaint was recently lodged against a club on Georgian Bay. That club has been fined and is under investigation.

Remember fines for contravening any aspect of the emergency orders is up to $1,000 for individuals, up to $500,000 for directors, and up to $1,000,000 for organizations.

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by Kim Gregory

Toronto area boat club advisory:

I (club management) received an update on the legal interpretation of what being closed during emergency orders means. No person shall enter or use any outdoor amenity except for emergency maintenance, safety, or law enforcement. Therefore, access to the club is permitted only for emergencies or unusual circumstances. I have now received the official letter from the City of Toronto declaring our Club closed until further notice under provincial emergency orders.

The only other exceptions are: (1) directors are permitted to carry out routine checks of club premises; and (2) live-a-boards are permitted on club premises if their boat is their primary residence and they follow all other advisories and restrictions.


Following high winds earlier this week, Ontario Sailing received numerous questions about allowing members to check their boats and covers. OSA has confirmed through legal counsel that the government DOES NOT consider checking a recreational boat to be an emergency. Apparently, the provincial government has liaised with the insurance community and been assured that there is no expectation by insurance companies that members check boats while under emergency orders. Legal advice is no access while under emergency orders.

Thanks Kim. I think we all appreciate that this is the situation right now.

At the same time...the whole situation is constantly under review and there are some signs (and hope) that the extent of the lockdown in Ontario might begin to be relaxed incrementally in a month or so, if the pandemic numbers continue to indicate progress.

So I think that clubs and marina owners should be starting to build their arguments and plans for why responsible boating should be considered a low-risk activity, if some common-sense rules are set and observed. The involved activities - arriving and parking, walking down to one's boat, casting off - can all be done while following the distancing rules. To me, it seems it would not pose any greater risk of close contact than a trip to the grocery store.

Launch and masting will be more difficult to choreograph to meet distancing requirements, but I don't think it's impossible.