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Boaters violating Tyee Pool rules daily, say concerned rowers

A group of concerned Tyee Club members and guests is calling on the federal government to crack down on boaters violating the rules of the Tyee Pool.
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A group of concerned Tyee Club members and guests are asking the federal government to crack down on those who are violating the Tyee Pool’s no-motor rule. The group says there are up to 20 infractions each day.

A group of concerned Tyee Club members and guests is calling on the federal government to crack down on boaters violating the rules of the Tyee Pool.

The group says that the pool, which is just off the shore of the Tyee Spit and is a no-motor zone for two months of the year, continues to have “many violations daily, on average 15 to 20 boats of all size as well as aircraft.”

A petition, which has at least 60 signatures on it, is being sent to Transport Canada with a strong message reminding the government of why the pool was mandated as a no-motor zone in the first place.

“We must look like fools to a lot of people coming here, knowing the federal government in 1990, after a rowboat was ran over by a motorboat, seriously injuring the three peope in the rowboat, made it law prohibiting motors in the pool,” reads the petition. “This action had to take a fair amount of lobbying from the club but now we cannot do anything to stop these violations, hence these three people were just sacrificed.”

Sharon Fisher, president of the Tyee Club, said not everyone, however, is intentionally violating the rules, though a fair share of them are knowingly ignoring the no-motor zone.

“We have people who are just unaware and are most cooperative when they are informed. There are aircraft and boats taking short cuts when only a few boats are on the water and then there are those who know the regulation and intentionally choose to not comply,” Fisher said. “Of the most concern are the latter whom we have witnessed creating intentional waves close to the boats, putting them in danger.”

Those who created the petition, though, worry that there could be more victims if stricter enforcement of the rules is not forthcoming.

“Who will be next before federal authorities will be willing to ticket offenders and police the Tyee Pool on a regular basis? All avenues will be pursued from now on to get this problem resolved,” states the petition.

The Tyee season opened this year on July 15 and runs until Sept. 15 at noon.

The Tyee Club has been operating in Campbell River since 1924 when a group of anglers started returning to Campbell River each year in the hopes of hooking a Tyee – a Chinook salmon that is 30 pounds or larger.