Dear Editor:
This letter is written in response to the recent article on March 21 about the proposed wind and paddle park for Osoyoos.
In my opinion, Osoyoos has an opportunity to be a significant leader in this area … if it can think BIG!
The idea of a motorless area on Osoyoos Lake has long been a fantasy of mine and others, I’m sure.
However, the evolution of boat docks around the lake over the years has virtually prohibited such a concept, until now perhaps.
One must stop and think – where are the boat docks?
There will always be motorized water traffic from these and the new marina that introduces a potential danger to stand up (SU) paddlers, canoeists/kayakers, kiteboarders, windsurfers and sail boaters.
Also, all but very experienced SU paddlers and canoeists/kayakers need or want wind, not the type who visit our lake. On the other hand, kite surfers and windsurfers want nothing but wind, the more the merrier.
So, a park along motel strip, with its clutter of moored power boats and boat docks, and the new marina, not far removed at powerboat speed, may not be the best location for a “water park.”
Moreover, kite boards, windsurfers and sailboats need wind from two directions to be fully functional.
Along motel strip, despite its shallow water, the wind blows only from the north. In a south wind, that area is in a wind shadow. What a dilemma!
The solution, however, lies south of the bridge, if our town is willing to think that big.
The body of water between the bridge and Haynes Point is not really sufficiently large enough for today’s modern powerboats, nor high-speed personal watercrafts, despite the plethora of such watercraft every summer just looking for an accident waiting to happen.
However, it is ideal for SU paddlers, canoeists/kayakers, sailboats and kite boards and windsurfers.
To hit, when the wind blows from the north, sailors, kite boarders and windsurfers will all find sufficient wind for their sport along the north side if Haynes Point, while SU paddlers and canoeists/kayakers, not to mention fishermen, will find the calm waters they seek in the wind shadow along Heritage Park walkway to Legion Park.
Conversely, when the wind blows north, the two groups need just reverse positions.
There will be some problems that surface, of course, but they can be resolved if our city fathers can think big and residents of town support them.
Our marina is north of the bridge. How will any sailboats parked there get to the south side without stepping their masts? Or could a marina exclusive to sailboats be built south of the bridge?
There are two or three boat docks south of the bridge.
How will powerboats get from there to the north side? Or could a canal/bridge system be built from Solana Bay north for this purpose?
Can my town think this big? I think we could!
Dr. Tom Gee,
Osoyoos, B.C.
