"Bob's World" with Bob Moro
May 2024
I live on Whiskey Creek, so my boat and I often pass under the Cape Coral Bridge to head south towards Sanibel and the Gulf of Mexico. There’s a slow speed zone as you approach Redfish Point and the Cape Coral Yacht Club, but you wouldn’t know it nowadays. Ian blew those signs away 19 months ago, and they haven’t been replaced.
Shortly after the storm, most boaters would still honor that zone, now marked by bent and broken pilings where the signs used to be. But now, almost no one goes slow there. There are numerous other areas in our local waterways still awaiting replacement of those slow sped zone signs, and it’s pretty much the wild west of boating in those areas as well. Law enforcement still knows where the zones are, but without signs, they may be reluctant to stop boaters and issue citations, ranging from $125 to $25,000, depending on the area and the nature of your crime. So why haven’t they been replaced yet?
It’s complicated. “All Lee County-owned aids to navigation are up and functioning properly, I would recommend checking with the state and federal agencies,” was the reply I received from the Lee County Public Relations office. “State/ locals (not us) are responsible for the no/wake slow speed zones,” replied my friends from the Coast Guard. Brian Rehwinkel is The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Boating and Waterways Outreach and Education Coordinator, and the go-to guy whenever I have big questions about boating safety statewide. “All FWC managed zones in Lee and Collier County have been replaced from Ian’s storm damage,” Brian told me.
Huh? So who else has responsibility for slow speed zone signs?
“The missing markers are under the care of the US Fish and Wildlife Services, Bob,” Brian explained. “We work in partnership with them often, but they’re a federal agency, and there may be funding or other issues causing delays from their end, but I just don’t know. I suggest you talk to Ryan Moreau. He’s an ex-FWC guy. I’m sure he can shed some light on this for you.”
Ryan Moreau was recently hired by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to manage the federal manatee signs and markers program in Florida, which up until his hire was done part-time by Service staff in collaboration with the FWC. USF&W Public Affairs Specialist Carli Segelson explained.
“We are aware of the locations of Federal signs in need of repair within the Caloosahatchee River, and we’ve been working diligently with our partners (Lee County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission) on responding to the markers that are damaged or missing. The Service has requested and received hurricane supplemental funds to repair or replace [slow speed zone and] manatee signage. The delay was accessing the funds and ramping up the program to include hiring a program manager (Ryan) to implement and sustain the maintenance of the federal manatee signs and markers program throughout Florida. Our goal is to start the repair work within portions of the Caloosahatchee River as soon as Summer of 2024,” Carli explained.
Carli said her agency is committed to Florida manatee conservation, including reducing the number of manatees struck by boats. She urged boaters in Lee County to review maps of manatee protection zones at their local boat ramps, and go to myfwc.com and review USFWS Manatee Protection and Boating Restricted Areas.
Slow speed zones can play an important roll in boating safety. In mid-March, two boaters died when their boat crashed into mangrove trees on Little Hickory Bay in Collier County. News reports and local boaters said it occurred at a turn known to be dangerous, but signs marking the hazard had been destroyed during Hurricane Ian. I asked Brian about the accident.
“The markers they spoke about were not legally placed. It was not an official slow speed zone, but Collier County has been working on establishing it as such. Florida laws allow local city and county governments to make those decisions, but they are subject to review and final approval for compliance with state laws by FWC.” Brian explained. He praised that policy as a way for communities with local knowledge to make recommendations on designating slow speed zones or marking hazardous waterways, but cautioned that not all requests can legally be honored by FWC.
“We often hear complaints from homeowners that an area should be designated as a slow speed zone because they feel the wakes are damaging their docks or seawalls, but that alone is not a valid reason for declaring those areas slow speed zones. Fuel docks, high traffic areas, dangerous passages, areas of high accidents, and sea grass protection might apply, but private property resource protection is not a valid reason for establishing those zones,” Brian said.
Gregg DeWitt, Fire Chief of the Bonita Springs Fire Control and Rescue District suggested that the pilot in the Little Bay boating tragedy near Little Hickory Island had not been in compliance with the new state law requiring operators to be connected to the kill switch at the helm. Both were ejected from the boat. Perhaps they would be alive today if the boat motor was shut off when they first hit the mangroves. Please connect yourself to the kill switch when piloting your boat. It’s the law, and it might just save your life.
Fellow NMM writer and good friend Tom Dawson is a boating class instructor, and the author of two books on boating safely in our local waters. He and his Cape Coral Power Squadron colleagues check on 1087 of the 1640 channel markers and ATONS (aids to navigation) in Lee County, including 192 entry channels, as part of their Cooperative Charting program. Lee County manages about 889 navigation aids, and 1,447 non lateral aids (used to mark fairways, mid-channels, boating restricted areas, including slow speed zones). We need every one of them to help stay safe on the water. Don’t ignore them. Use your seaman’s eye to be aware of your surroundings at all times. The main cause of accidents and fatalities on the water is the simple act—or inaction-- of failing to pay attention.
So the mystery is solved, and all the missing signs should be replaced soon. But they won’t do us much good if nobody obeys them. Here’s a quote from my September 2019 column about slow speed zones:
“We're all in a hurry nowadays. We know we need to slow down, but we just can't. Sometimes we even rush through our recreation time; cramming it into our busy schedules. Kind of defeats the purpose, don't you think? So when we are in our boats rushing towards relaxation, it's understandable that some of us start to grumble when we see the inevitable 'Slow Speed-Minimum Wake Zone' signs. For all you Type A's out there, this column is for you.”
P/C Bob Moro AP
Past Commander Bob Moro AP Fort Myers Power Squadron-America’s Boating Club