President’s Report Fall
From the Helm . . .
As this issue of the Cannonball goes to press, I can begin to look back on the year, the summer, and the season. It’s been a busy summer. Tribal negotiations, many meetings, many negotiations related phone calls; even the fishing has been tough at times as it seems unusually windy this year.
On the plus side of fishing, we are seeing a few more silver fish this summer. There seems to be a bunch of young king salmon swimming around the Manitou Islands.
As I went through the summer on the water I’ve been noticing a safety issue that I would like to bring to the attention of our members and those who read this newsletter. I have noticed that it seems that we have more and more small boat Captains running at high speed in the fog. This is very dangerous, and could easily result in getting people killed. GPS guidance is great, but a 1000 ft. freighter or a tug pulling a barge with 700 ft. of nearly invisible cable between them, coupled with a small boat running at high speed in fog is a recipe for disaster! Even with radar the cable between a tug and a barge is invisible, creating a potentially deadly situation. Misjudging the track and crossing angle with a 1,000 footer could also be deadly. Even worse if it happens at high speed without radar. I know I did it with my small boat before I started chartering. I always tried to be careful, but I now realize I wasn’t always very smart. Wisdom comes with knowledge and experience. Slow down in the fog! Our clients count on us to bring them home safe! Our families, too.
The Tribal Decree negotiations continue. It has been and continues to be a very slow process. It will be great once the confidentiality agreements are ended, and we will be able to inform the membership as to what has been going on and who the major players are. As this drags on the expenses continue to mount. Please consider making a donation to the Tribal Decree fund. I know this has gone on for a very long time. I think it may be part of the tribe’s strategy to bankrupt the sports fishing community. They would like us to quit showing up and standing firm to protect our fishery. That can never happen.
There will be a fundraising event for the Coalition to Protect Michigan Resources on October 23rd at the VFW Hall on Veteran’s Drive in Traverse City. It will be a spaghetti dinner with a raffle and guest speakers.
The MCBA fall conference will be held October 15, 16, and 17th in Bay City at the DoubleTree by Hilton. It will be great to meet in person again, and we hope we will be able to catch up with all the news, and events of the past year.
I hope to see you at the MCBA fall conference and/or some of the meetings this fall and winter.
Captain Bill Winowiecki – President
Michigan Charter Boat Association
