General Situation Spring 2011:

The SSR Scheme option has been retracted, all boats must now register with the 'Lake Windermere Registration Scheme' - more in the news section about the new Registration bylaws

No new Navigation bylaws have been confirmed so the situation is similar to 2010. As of March 31st KWAA are unsure how the season will progress but look forward to continuing the gains made last season

Obvious unassociated speeding tends to attract attention.

Say No to a 'Still Life'

Help us to forge a link with the NPA, help us to look after the interests of all motor boats and preserve the heritage of the area.

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Spring 2011.

Why the long wait?

Its been a good few months since the last update to our web site and for good reason. Earlier this year DEFRA decided eventually to look at the proposed bylaw changes submitted after a year of public consultation, and after sitting on the submission for the best part of 3 years decided non lake users have more say on how the lake should be run than those who care to use it. The outcome as you expect is a complete mess and for once not the entire fault of the NPA. Changes have come thick and fast following the upset and partial implementation of the proposals, they break down into two distinct categories. Navigation and Registration.

The Registration Bylaw changes have been granted by the Secretary of State, they tidy some minor inaccuracies but the main area of change is around the registration of powered craft on the lake, who owns the boat and who is driving the boat. The previous opportunity to register with an alternative European approved scheme (SSR) has been withdrawn and only the single 'comprehensive' Lake Registration scheme (LRS) is now valid. We would recommend to all our supporters that if they are only SSR registered to take advantage of an NPA initiative that gives you a set of numbers when you register your boat for LRS for the renewal fee of £5. Other bylaw amendments in this area place new requirements on the owner of the boat to tell authorities within 28 days who was driving, while this seems like a significant change it is not as the police already had the power. Underlying this change is the general refusal of the police to get involved with enforcing aspects of the bylaws and this is now being done completely in-house by the NPA.

Some aspects of the proposals for the NAVIGATION bylaws were ultimately insignificant as far as KWAA supporters were concerned. The claimed 'correction' was necessary caused by a lack of understanding and the gleeful smug way in which the current set of Navigation bylaws were badly drafted. This related to the 'massive' discrepancy between 10 miles and 10 knots per hour and spurred even more debate as to the legality of the findings of the public enquiry. The crux of this being the legal requirement of a speed limit on water to be in approved units of either Kilometres or knots but not miles as this is for use on land only. The findings of the enquiry are for miles only and therefore illegal, we must point out though that this is pure conjecture and would need to be proven in court which as we know can be expensive.
    Unfortunately the other more sensible and significant aspects of the Navigation bylaws got thrown out with the bathwater, these being the requirement of a passenger while wakeboarding, skiing etc, the possibility to train rescue personnel, conduct recognised boat handling training and grant other sensible exemptions. Further inroads into driver competency and insurance requirements also got left out in the cold.
    The letter from the secretary of state with regard to the Navigation bylaws paragraph 11. specifically cites the 'Friends of The Lake District' as the prime movers for the stupidity and ignorant situation that responsible lake users now find themselves in. At KWAA we have always pushed for best practice and the adoption of national standards for boat operation, yet once again a 'policy and politics' pressure group has vetoed changes to improve the lot of lake users purely on the basis of 'not really liking the idea'.
    The NPA look like they are now seeking to reintroduce the Navigation Bylaw submission on the basis there wont be any complaints from FOLD but this is yet to happen, we will keep our supporters posted as to movement in this area, fortunately though we can say the the requirement to 'knowingly' do more than 10 is still a requirement in the bylaw....

Lake Windermere continues to be an excellent venue to bring your friends and family to enjoy exciting pacey water sports. KWAA are keen for all powered boat drivers to take responsibility for their actions and use the facility accordingly. The Lake Rangers say they are sure that Skiing and especially Wakeboarding takes place legally which is the situation similar to the 2010 season. We look forward to a great season of sport and outdoor recreation, we will always have critics, let us prove them wrong so we can use the same argument as the NPA does, 'its working and there have been no problems'.

Here is to a great spring and see you on the water.