We have sailed on Lake…

We have sailed on Lake Simcoe for many years. As sailing is a rather slow means of transportation we often anchor for the night as we travel around the lake. While we try to avoid anchoring in locations close to property owners we must also consider the winds and waves in order to assure a safe, quiet night. Since the shores of Lake Simcoe are quite developed a requirement to stay 300 meters away from any on shore development will severely limit anchoring options. In many areas the water depth increases rapidly further from shore making a secure anchor set much more difficult.

The charts for the lake carry a note warning of the possibility of sudden severe storms. We have experienced this on the lake a few times. With a storm approaching one will want to tuck in to gain some shore line protection which is not compatible with the 300 m restriction. This requirement would in effect create a safety hazard.

When we are at anchor we do our best to spend our time quietly and be respectful of shoreline property owners. We suspect that overly enthusiastic jet skiers and very noisy go fast power boats are more of a concern than a quiet sailboat sitting offshore for the night.

We ask that this requirement be removed from the proposed amendments.