The days of speeding through the Intracoastal are gone. We’re talking about the stretch between Sunrise and Oakland Park boulevards.
“It’s going to be a slow speed minimum wake, which is enough to keep the vessel moving and keep the vessel under control, but not giving off an excessive amount of wake,” said Marco Aguilera, Fort Lauderdale’s chief waterways officer.
Why minimum wake matters
He says a minimum wake is critical for safety in this narrow, two-mile stretch of the Intracoastal.
“They’ll bounce off the seawalls, and they turn this whole area behind me into basically what is a washing machine. Making very dangerous conditions for kayakers, paddle and small boats,” he said.
Currently, the signs list 25 mph as the maximum speed for this section of the Intracoastal. But starting in February, those signs will be replaced with ones that read: slow speed, minimum wake.
A family’s painful reminder
“We’re very, very happy about this,” said Yonah Nisanov. He lost his 13-year-old sister Rachel while visiting Fort Lauderdale from New York.
In August, while riding a personal watercraft, investigators said a wake from a passing boat sent her into a dock along with her 16-year-old sister, who survived.
“Unfortunately, we obviously didn’t want it to happen in this type of fashion that we had to lose our sister, but we’re very happy that they definitely are taking the right measures to hopefully avoid this from ever happening again,” Nisanov said.
Tragedy led to change
While his sister’s tragedy helped to slow down boat traffic, it’s been a rough five months for the family.
“It’s a wound that’s open, and it’s painful, and you know, it’s not, it’s only a few months later, and you, you know, we’re still thinking about her on a daily basis,” he said.
Warnings first, then enforcement
Once the signs go up next month, there will be a 30-day “educational period” where speeders will just get a warning.
