Petition seeks guidelines for wake surfing while preserving rights

Kellie Geraghty, of Shell Knob, said there seems to be an important misconception surrounding the growing effort to establish wake-boat regulations on Table Rock Lake — it is not an effort to ban wake boats.

“Wake boats and their owners should be able to travel throughout Table Rock Lake just like other recreational boaters,” Geraghty said. “The concern is specifically with operating these boats in surf mode or with ballast engaged to intentionally create the large, high-energy waves necessary for wakesurfing.”

The regulation being sought would require wake-surf (ballast full) operations to remain a minimum of 500 feet from shorelines, docks and other boats, along with appropriate minimum-depth requirements. Ballast empty no regulations  

Research from the University of Minnesota’s St. Anthony Falls Laboratory measured the height, energy and power of waves produced by wakesurf boats and conventional recreational boats. Researchers found that, under typical wakesurfing conditions, wakesurf boats required distances greater than 500 feet for their waves to diminish to characteristics comparable to those created by conventional recreational boats.

“This isn’t about pointing fingers at wake-boat owners, and there should be no animosity toward the boats themselves or the people who enjoy them,” Geraghty said. “It’s about finding a way for all of us to share the lake.

“Table Rock Lake belongs to the fisherman who gets up before sunrise. It belongs to the family pulling children on a tube. It belongs to the pontoon boat slowly cruising the shoreline. It belongs to the people sitting on their docks, the homeowners along the water, and yes — it belongs to the people who love wakesurfing. There is room for everyone.”

Geraghty said when one recreational activity begins affecting another person’s safety, damaging docks or boats, impacting shorelines, or raising concerns about the long-term integrity of the lake, it becomes reasonable to establish boundaries that allow everyone to continue enjoying the water.

That is what this petition is asking for.

“Enjoy your boat,” Geraghty said. “Cruise the lake. Have fun. And when you want to fill the ballast and create a surf wake, move into water where there is adequate depth and sufficient distance between you and shorelines, docks, other boats and people.”

Five hundred feet is roughly the length of one and two-thirds football fields. On a lake the size of Table Rock, establishing appropriate areas for wakesurfing can allow the sport to continue while providing greater protection for docks, people and the ecosystem of the lake itself  

“Reasonable regulation does not have to mean taking someone’s recreation away,” Geraghty said. “It can mean sharing the lake responsibly. The goal is balance — protecting people’s ability to enjoy wakesurfing while also protecting property, personal safety, shorelines and the lake that brings all of us here in the first place.

“This effort isn’t against wake boats. It’s for Table Rock Lake — and for finding a solution that allows all of us to enjoy it together.”

The petition may be found at https://tinyurl.com/4n8znk9v.