Lake Martin Topics: Open Letter to Don

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	Name:	The Loner -
	Subject:	Open Letter to Don
	Date:	3/12/2006 8:18:43 PM

You have seen me on this forum before, though it has been a while.

And I'll take the bait you've offered, though let me say up front that I'd like to see you call out the other anonymous posters just as vehemently; by my estimation, that means everyone but you and, soon, me.

My story: first, I don't own a house on the lake, of any size; I can't afford it, and I know that for a fact because I've looked. A lot. So I do what my family has done since before I was born (in 1961, if it matters.) I rent. And, as of 1999, renting is a hardship, one I can afford only because the cabin is shared with another family. But, life is still good enough (and my father still loves the lake enough, even if he doesn't get to visit very often) that the hardship is manageable, and still worth it. How long will it be either one? I don't know, and that's why I try to enjoy every lake day as if it were my last, because someday soon, it will be.

As for boats, the boat I currently own is the second biggest boat my family has ever had; since we've been on the lake almost 50 years, we're talking about many boats. It's all of 18 feet long. And, it rarely gets used on the weekends, because it can't handle the waves, at least not comfortably. In fact, my wife won't ride in it at all on the weekends, because the violent bouncing aggraves a neck injury, an injury she originally suffered on a particularly rough ride.

The previous boats we have owned include a 12-foot johnboat, a slightly larger fishing boat (15 feet, 35 HP), a Caravelle and three Stingrays ranging from 16 to 17'9", a 20-foot Glassmaster, and two that we had when I was very young; the best I can do for those two is tell you that the first one was green, and the second blue. (It was a long time ago.)

One thing that all of these boats had in common was that they could handle-- with ease-- the worst that the lake could dish out. Yes, some days were calmer than others, but the roughest days we saw back then never caused neck injuries; they were never even so rough that I'd term a boat ride "unpleasant." Today, that's not the case... even though I have a boat that is bigger than all but one of those previous vessels.

But though my boat is bigger than the boat I had 20 years ago, the waves are exponentially bigger. I can state without hesitation that the roughest water seen on any July 4th weekend pre-1986 was calmer than any typical Saturday in the last five years. Because it's not just the number of boats on the water, but the size of too many of them. Big boats create big wakes, and big wakes are not only bigger waves, but bigger waves that don't dissipate as quickly.

You and I are going to have to disagree on this issue, and that's fine. I'll even continue to frequent Anchor Bay, and not because it's the closest marina to my cabin. (Which, incidentally, it is not.) And I'll still spend money there, though not as much as I would if I was burning more gas in the boat; when you don't boat on weekends because of the pounding, and no one wants to ski because the water is too rough, a tank of gas goes an amazingly long way.

I'll also continue to resent this being turned into a "rich vs. poor" battle, with the "poor" being characterized as those who can afford boats that cost more than most of the houses I've ever lived in. No, the poor people in this battle are those like me, who can't afford to buy a boat big enough to handle the waves the other boats are throwing at us. (And speaking for myself, I wouldn't buy one anyway; I firmly believe that there SHOULD be a size-limit on the lake, and the boats in question exceed it..

Am I mad? You betcha. I'm mad that people like me are being forced from the lake by houses that are too big, and forced off the water by boats that are too big; when someone then calls me a "rich person who's trying to take the lake away from the rest of us," then that anger intensifies.

Who am I? I'm someone who has been on the lake since the day I was born, and whose family was on the lake before that. My family has contributed to the local economy by paying rent since the 1950s, and has bought at least 12 boats in that time. I've worked on the lake, and since 1988 have written about the lake, every month.

My name is Bailey Jones; anyone who wants to email me can do so at baileyjones (at) mindspring.com.

So let's hear from everyone; Don called me out, and I'm sure he's about to call the rest of you out, too. I stepped out from behind my alias; will you?