Joint release from the Sunset Bay Owners Association (SBOA) Board of Directors (BOD) and the Mariners Club BOD:
On Tuesday, 24 July 2018, the Sunset Bay BOD met and discussed concerns raised by various owners (including some members of the Sunset Bay BOD and Mariners Club BOD) regarding swimming that has been taking place in areas in and around the Marina and Boat Ramp. Swimmers in these areas are often very hard to spot by watercraft operating in these areas. Varying intensities and direction of sunlight, glare, waves, noise, rain, fog, darkness, etc., can make detecting such swimmers (who often may only have their head protruding above water) even harder in many instances, which can delay or inhibit watercraft operators from taking the timely and necessary actions to evade hitting such swimmers in the water with their vessels. Additionally, electrical service on the marina docks may pose the potential for swimmer electrocution risk under certain circumstances. Likewise, there is the potential for gasoline and oil spillage entering the water in this area.
Both the Sunset Bay BOD and the Mariners Club BOD unanimously believe that swimming anywhere close to the marina docks, in and around the approaches to the no-wake zone beyond the marina docks, and in the areas of the lake near the marina walkway and/or boat ramp/courtesy dock creates extremely dangerous situations for both the swimmers and for boat and other watercraft operation in these areas, even while idling in the no wake zone. In the interests of preserving the safety of all our owners and their guests/visitors, both the Sunset Bay BOD and the Mariners Club BOD recommend, in the strongest terms possible, that all owners and their guests/visitors avoid swimming in these areas of the lake.
Both the Sunset Bay BOD and the Mariners Club BOD recognize that we do not have the authority to prohibit swimming in the lake beyond the boundaries of the Association property, therefore we are strongly requesting the utmost cooperation regarding the above from all our owners and their guests/visitors. Nevertheless, as reminders of the dangers of swimming in any areas with routine boat traffic, the Mariners Club has posted NO SWIMMING signs. Additionally, the Sunset Bay Mariners Club passed a rule earlier this year (approved 18 July 2018) prohibiting swimming access from any part of the marina itself, and imposes a $30 fine per occurrence.
Now, acting out of an abundance of caution with sincere concern for safety in these matters, the Sunset Bay BOD has unanimously voted to create the following rule, which is effective immediately:
Owners and their guests/visitors are prohibited from accessing the lake from any portion of the Association Lot 379C (the clubhouse/marina/boat ramp lot) for the purpose of swimming. Violations of this rule will be subject to a fine of $30 per occurrence. (The attached illustration (yellow line) depicts the prohibited areas of access from lot 379C.) [Vote conducted on 24 July 2018, with all five BOD members (Henry Smith, Rebecca Miller, Terry Reinitz, Jim Brown, and Mark Sutton) voting to approve the rule.]
The SBOA BOD hopes that this rule, the concerns raised above, and the expected cooperation of our owners will greatly improve the safety outlook for all concerned as we move forward.
Sincerely,
Henry Smith
President, Sunset Bay Owners Association
Rich Lemming
President, Sunset Bay Mariners Club
