Dear Editor,
We live on Lake Oconee in a little cove off Hwy. 44 (first cove on the left, heading north – Ed.).
The only way for boats and jet skis to get to our little cove is through a tunnel that goes under Hwy 44. For the most part, it is pretty peaceful here until the weather gets warmer and especially on holiday weekends.
We have been on Lake Oconee since 1987 and have seen a lot of change. We downsized three years ago and bought a smaller home in the little cove we are at now. The only boats that will fit through the tunnel are pontoons with the top down, smaller fishing boats, and jet skis.
Thank God the wake boats can’t get through the tunnel!
Each year gets worse. The biggest problem is the jet skis. They come from under the tunnel at full speed and just make circles, sometimes three or four of them at the same time, churning up the water. Our cove is not very wide, so before long it looks like the ocean due to waves from jet skis. The people riding them have no respect for people living in the cove, swimming, fishing, or just sitting on a dock enjoying the lake.
We have had several jet skis ride wide open, straight at the dock, and make a quick turn, sending a wall of water up on our dock that actually knocked heavy iron chairs off the dock into the water. I cannot tell you the damage to our seawalls and the neighbors’ seawalls. Our boats tied to our docks take a beating, also.
Sometimes, there will be three or four jet skis that come in at one time and spend 20 minutes churning the water, then stop in the middle of the cove and sit for 30 minutes drinking beer and throwing the cans in the water.
The jet skis also come in here pulling kids on tubes and making the turn and the kids almost hit the docks. And nine times out of 10 they have no mirrors or spotter on the back watching the kids on the tube, so the driver has no clue when kids have fallen off the tube.
With all that being said we have called the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Putnam County Sheriff’s non-emergency number several times to report it.
We were told last year by the police officer that came out one hour after we called that they had no jurisdiction over the lake, even though Putnam County has a smaller boat just on the other side of the tunnel. After several calls to DNR, we finally got a callback and were told they did not have a boat that would fit under the tunnel. Both the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office and DNR said they were understaffed.
This past July 4th weekend we sat on our screened porch and on Saturday we counted 47 jet skis in the cove from 6:45 a.m. to after dark. I think the jet skiers have figured out they can come in our cove and act like idiots, and nobody will stop them because they know Putnam County Sheriff or DNR will not be in the cove watching.
The problem is not only a nightmare for us and all our neighbors living in the cove, but someone is going to get hurt! My neighbor called Putnam County Sheriff’s a couple of weekends ago about a jet ski pulling two small children on a tube. They were way too close to the docks when making the turn. Nobody from Putnam County showed up.
I don’t know what the solution is, but it may help if Georgia Power or DNR would put a sign up in front going into the tunnel stating, “No Jet Skis or Tube-Pulling Beyond this Point.” Because it is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when somebody gets hurt! I guess when that happens, everybody will finally show up.
Don Pilgrim, Eatonton