Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

[Mikeski]

Please Help save the California delta for Waterskiers and Wakeboarders!

The County Board of Supervisors has proposed a ban on Waterskiing activities in a commonly used area by waterskiers and wakeboarders. The president of the Board Mary Peipho and her husband David Peipho are avid "HotBoaters" and they are using their political pull to outlaw skiing so they can turn this part of the delta into their personal race course.

Please sign the petition, send a message to encourage the local media to out the Peipho's, or send a message to the local supervisors. It would be a shame to penalize the waterskiers and wakeboarders when the real safety issue is excessive speed on these narrow waterways.

http://www.deltawaterskiban.org/

http://www.bayareanewsgroup.com/mult...ting_orig.html

Since 1995 excessive speed was accounted for 12 deaths, water skiing was involved in 7 deaths. It's likely alcohol or excessive speed were major factors in the 7 water skiing deaths.

Sorry for putthing this in the General Discussion but I wanted to get as much attention to this issue as possible.

Thanks for your help!

Mikeski

[bkhallpass]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

Mike,

I live in Discovery Bay, as you know, and I disagree with you on this one.

I can't think of one thing I've ever agreed with Mary or David Piepho before. Frankly,
I don't know how they get elected. Nevertheless, I see no reason to allow skiing on
Indian Slough in front of Discovery Bay. It's dangerous. Offshores, speeding through, yauchts, lots of traffic, jetskis doing donuts, and then some idiot weekender puts
his 8 year old kid in the water, the second he rounds the corner from Orwood.

My problem with the proposal is that it extends too far. While the curvey section in front of discovery bay is extremely dangerous, I see no reason to extend the ban from the DB Marina to Old river as proposed.

I don't see a no ski zone as a big issue. I do see a 5 mph zone as a big issue. If people
keep fighting this non-issue, they will end up with the county supervisors doing a full study. I have no doubt that these non-boaters will come back with a recommendation that the whole thing be 5mph. That would be a disaster.

If one is looking for alterior motives, I would think it has more to do with political aspirations. There is a developer looking to put in 4000-6000 homes with water access and a Marina. That's going to be very tough to put through without a 5 mph zone. Again, that would be disastrous for DB residents, some of whome would be looking at
an hour and a half to get to fast water.

BKH

[Mikeski]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

Brian,

I agree that this is not a very good place to ski & wakeboard but I don't think it should be banned. On weekdays it's a good place to take a quick ski or board ride even a quick barefoot run, on weekends it's suicide.

In truth, the main reason I don't keep my boat at D'Bay any more is that an offshore boat nearly ran down my nephew just west of the old river intersection. I see the offshore boats as the biggest menace of the delta, that's why I don't go out on weekends much anymore.

I believe this is the first step toward getting the 5mph zone passed and feel that we should fight it and raise the awarness to the issues now.

If this were truly about safety I think they should consider a speed limit but I am hesitant to support it because it could end up getting set below a decent skiing speed?

I would support a no ski ban from orwood to D'bay as you say, but it should also include a 40 or lower speed limit.

Mikeski

[tski97]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

I grew up skiing on this part of the delta and I agree that this area can be very dangerous. If they did ban skiing in this area it would be costly to enforce it. It would make more sense to me to have a patrol boat out there on the weekends and enforce all safety laws. I would assume that even without a speed limit a patrol person can ticket anybody for recklessness wich would include the offshore boats speeding in this area.

I do not live live there anymore and I am not impacted by this but I would be curios as to the outcome. Please keep us informed as to what happens.

I do agree that it is a good place to ski during the week. I can remember many great runs in that area.

[bkhallpass]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

tski97.

Just an update. The resolution that passed, will preclude towed water sports from Orwood to the intersection of the DB Marina and Indian slough; weekends and holidays;
April through September. Should take effect sometime July. BKH

[tski97]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

By the DB Marina you mean the entrance to DB i would guess. That sounds like a good comparmise for the area. The weekends out in that area were really bad when I was there and i can only imagine what they are like today.

Thanks for the update.

[bkhallpass]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

Well, there are three entrances to Discovery Bay - Kellog Creek, Lido Bay, and DB Marina.
But, I think what you call "the entrance" is what I am referring to. BKH

[skiswm]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

I would tend to agree with Brian on this one. Sadly a few people over the years have gotten so out of control it ruined it for many (wknds at Orwood). But, at this point I don't think there is much else they can do. Having been there a few times and see how people come flying through I think this is about the only choice. You get someone on their "brand new boat" they don't understand the rules nor the danger that lies just ahead of them and you end up with a bad accident. At least a few times a year you see the pictures on the news with one boat/jetski etc that has t-boned another in this general area. Back in 1999 we had this same sort of issue take hold at Donner Lake in Truckee CA. We fought it real hard, they wanted to totally ban anything over 5mph Saturday afternoons and all day Sunday. We found they had flawed research for the ban, but what was also brought up is we ended up policing ourselves a lot more. This seemed to work, people were warned before launching what the "Rules of the road" were. Then again, a lake doesn't have the "wonderful" blind corners the delta does, nor the ships headed to the Port of Stockton.

My only thought on this for someone like you Brian would be how it'll effect home values in the Disco Bay area?

Plus, afterall we gotta have enough patrol boats (USCG, Sherriff, etc) to protect our wandering whales that come in for a visit. LoL Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

[bkhallpass]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

Hey skiswm, how you been.

I don't thing property values are an issue. Not that big a deal. Drive less than half a mile to where you can ski. A 5mph zone would have a huge impact on property values.

BKH

[skiswm]

RE: Delta Waterskiing/Wakeboarding ban - PLEASE HELP

Brian, I was just watchin the news tonight and they found an Alligator off of Sherman Island, be careful out there! Between the whales and now alligators what's next? I am not sure I should even ask.......