For this edition of the Responsible Wakes newsletter, we interviewed Kathleen Chatot from Joe’s Pond, Paul Zaloom from Woodbury Lake, Pam Ladds from Lake Memphremagog, and a swimmer from Lake Champlain. All are are serious swimmers who have enjoyed Vermont’s lakes for many years.
Kathleen Chatot, Joe’s Pond
Kathleen, tell us about your swimming on Joe’s Pond.
I am a long-time pond resident and open water swimmer for many years. It is my habit to swim with a high visibility, tow-behind buoy for safety.
Tell us what happened to you in 2021.
In mid- August of 2021, I had a surprising experience with wake-enhanced waves from a wake boat. I was in the third pond’s west side shore, close to the north end of the slalom course. I noticed the wake boat in the middle of the pond, approximately parallel to the slalom course. I chose to rest in the middle of my swim. I was floating on my back expecting the gentle action of the boat’s waves to undulate beneath me as I took a break. All of a sudden, I was suddenly flipped over and with a mouthful of water I felt a very disturbing undercurrent pulling at me. This was a new, unprecedented experience that I was not expecting.
What should be done to protect swimmers?
The impacts of wake boats need to be researched for the safety of swimmers.
Paul Zaloom, Woodbury Lake
Paul, tell us about your swimming.
As the owner of a camp on Woodbury Lake for over 40 years, I’ve been a daily avid open water swimmer. Working summers in the Northeast Kingdom, I also frequent Shadow, Parker, and Caspian, three of the lakes that will allow wake boats under the proposed 500-foot regulation. I tow a buoy with a light, stay close to shore, and pay close attention to boat traffic. None of these measures will help me or any other swimmer recover from a silent, unexpected three— to four-foot wave. In a wake boat’s enhanced-wave mode, when heavy ballast weighs down the stern and causes the bow to rise, the forward vision of the boat operator is blocked from seeing swimmers and watercraft in the path of the boat.
Have you heard about other Vermont lake-swimmers and paddlers?
Yes. A swimmer from Joe’s Pond said, “I try not to go out on the water to swim or do other activities. It is just too rough.”
A long-distance swimmer from Lake Raponda stated they “no longer feel safe swimming in Lake Raponda, even when wearing a safety bubble for visibility.”
A kayaker from Shadow Lake in Glover reports that “the little guy who just wants to go enjoy the water in a $200 kayak that they bought at Big Lots can’t because now it’s too dangerous.”
A paddler from Lake Salem warned, “Out of caution, we now do not, as a rule, paddle when a wake boat is present…extra caution is necessary when our grandchildren are swimming as they have almost been knocked over by these waves.”
A resident of Lake Iroquois reported, “In 2020, my four-year-old grandson was playing in the water…A large wave from a wake boat washed him under the dock. Wearing a life jacket, he was caught between the water and the underside of the dock.”
What’s your conclusion?
In addition to shore erosion, dock and boat damage, flooded loon nests, swamped kayaks and paddleboards, destructive sediment agitation near our water intakes, and much more, swimmers are at significant risk from wake boats. Will the very reasonable proposed regulation — 1000-foot from shore, minimum 20-foot depth, minimum 60 contiguous acres — come into effect only after someone drowns in one of our beautiful lakes? We all really hope not. Please, let’s act now before someone perishes.
What should be done to protect swimmers?
I support the rule drafted by DEC, and recommend it be made stronger by increasing the distance-from-shore requirement to 1,000 feet.
Pam Ladds, Lake Memphremagog
Pam, tell us about your swimming with wake boats on Lake Memphremagog.
Stretching across two countries, Lake Memphremagog is the third deepest in Vermont. It contains 21 islands. Province Island, the largest, is divided by the international border. The lake is irregular in shape, and along its shores are several striking indentations, in some places low, and in some other parts high and rocky. The lake is within the larger territory originally inhabited by the Abenaki tribe.The lake’s name, Memphremagog, is derived from the Algonkian language, in which Memrahabegek means “where there is a big expanse of water”.
Pam, tell us about your experience with wake boats on Memphremagog.
I have personal experience of wake boat mayhem. I am an open water swimmer and kayaker. Last year on Memphremagog I was kayaking for another marathon swimmer. We were coming back down from a trip around Province Island towards Cove Island on a lovely summer day. We had probably just crossed the border, although it is hard to tell there. We were surprised to see Border Patrol/police boats from both Quebec and Vermont as we were crossing. However, they were not after us for border violations, they were checking to see that we were OK, as we had been hit with a large “out of nowhere” wave.
What happened next?
No boat was in evidence, it was long gone. The wave then crashed into the shore around Eagle Point – a nature preserve. Both the swimmer and I are experienced, and although we were clearly rocked, we were not swamped.
Tell us about the wave.
That kind of “surfable tidal wave” for kids or adults on paddle boards, or swimming near the shoreline, is high risk. It should not take a tragedy to create safety parameters. The lakes are supposed to be shared by all of us, including birds, animals and fish. An elite pastime such as wake surfing should not be able to impact negatively on all of us.
What should we do about wake boats?
There is a lot of concern about wake boats and the need to limit their damage on Memphremagog and all the other lakes in the region. While my personal preference would be to ban them totally, I support the position taken by Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes. They want to keep these boats 1000′ from shore rule, a rule that, although far from perfect, is better than the previous suggestion of 500′.
If we do not take care of our environment and protect it Vermont will no longer be the “Tourist Paradise” that we are aiming for. Tourism is an economic driver here that we can easily lose. Churning up the lake bed destroys fishing potential, and we will risk the shore birds that pull the ornithologists among us. So far we have kept invasive species at a manageable level, but these boats as they chop and spread the plants can change that.
Anonymous, Lake Champlain
Tell us of your experience swimming with wake boats
I am a swimmer and have a beachfront house in Shelburne on Lake Champlain. One day, as I was swimming less than 50 feet offshore, my swim cap began to buzz and I thought there must be a methane upwelling beneath me. To my shock, I realized that a wake boat was coming into their dock and didn’t see me as the waves from the wake produced by the boat must have obscured me from the driver’s sight.
What happened next?
The boat came within 5 or 6 feet of hitting me.
What should be done?
At a marina there are warnings about wakes, and buoys to navigate through for safety. Unfortunately, there are no such speed deterrents along other shorelines and the waves from wake boats produce a visibility problem and dangers for swimmers, even nearshore.
I know the issue is really about the ability of smaller lakes to handle the dangers of wakes from wake boats, but even on Lake Champlain, there’s this issue of visibility for swimmers that I wanted you to be aware of.
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Responsible Wakes for Vermont Lakes wants to keep swimmers safe, by restricting wake surfing to the deep middle of our larger lakes. To be safe, they need to stay 1000 feet from shore, in at least 20 feet of water. The State Department of Environmental Conservation has proposed a distance of 500 feet, but this is not adequate to protect swimmers like Kathleen, Paul, and Pam.
Do you have a lake wake story that you are willing to share? Let us know, and we’ll help you develop it. Write to info@responsiblewakes.org.