Charlottetown Yacht Club wants speed restrictions in harbour

The Charlottetown Yacht Club wants people to slow down in the Charlottetown Harbour, and would like to see speed restrictions put in place to make the harbour safer.

The clubpassed a resolution Thursday evening to request that a "no-wake" or reduced-speed zone be created.

"I think there's hardly a person in the harbour that hasn't either been affected by or seen an incident of a near miss or damage caused or danger created by people speeding and excessive waves in the Charlottetown Harbour," said Harry Holman, who put forward the motion, and is chairing a committee that is looking intoharbour safety.

"We want a safe harbour for everyone to enjoy."

'It's scary'

Holman says the topic ofspeeds in the harbour has been discussed by the club and its users for a number of years. He thinks in recent years the dangers in the harbour have become worse, as more people use the harbour, includingsailors, rowersand kayakers.

"It's scary for me. I mean I see small children out there who are learning to sail, or people perhaps on paddleboards who have never been out on the water before. They're really struggling in some cases to deal with people who are creating large waves," Holman said.

"And the people creating the waves may not be aware of the danger that some of these things are posing for people in canoes and other small boats."

He says a fatality in the harbour last summer made the issue even more front of mind.

Holman is suggesting a zone that would be between the HillsboroughBridge, and a buoy in the middle of the harbour. But, he says, he is open to suggestions for what would work best.

Not up to Harbour Authority

Now that the Yacht Club has agreed it wants to see restrictions in place, Holmansays the next step is to figure out how to make it happen and what agency has the authority to put a restriction in place.

Mike Cochrane, CEO of the Charlottetown Harbour Authority, says since the harbour is a public right of way, the Harbour Authority would not be able to create or enforce an official rule. He says any restrictions would be federally enforced.

He did, however, note that the harbour has become "busier and busier" in recent years, and he believes there could be an "educational component" to making sure boaters are safe on the water.

Holmansays the club plans to consult with groups that use the harbour, as well as local authorities in the coming weeks. While he doesn't expect restrictions to be in place in time for this summer, he's optimistic that there could be changes for the 2020 boating season.

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