A group of boaters shoots up the Ohio River on Thursday. (Tony Jones photo) | ZOOM |

        Kentucky officials signed an emergency state regulation this week for Ohio River boaters near downtown Cincinnati that many hope will reduce watercraft speeding and the large wakes that rock smaller boats.

        The new regulation took effect Wednesday and will expand the state's current no-wake zone from 100 feet to 300 feet between the Brent Spence and Daniel Carter Beard bridges during daylight hours. Boaters must power their crafts at idle speed within 300 feet of near-shore vessels, marinas, docks and harbor entrances.

        The problem, according to Kentucky Governor Paul Patton and C. Thomas Bennett, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources. is the higher wakes caused by boating congestion and fast-moving vessels in the popular stretch of the Ohio River. Other boats close to shore, especially smaller ones, are often pummeled by large waves from the wakes of fast-moving or larger boats.

        Veteran river boaters were glad to see the new regulation, which now mirrors an identical no-wake regulation within the smaller Ohio jurisdiction area on the river.

        “There are too many inexperienced speed jockeys out there kicking up wakes who have no consideration for anyone else,” said former U.S. Coast Guard Commander Harold DeMarrero from his houseboat moored at Watertown Yacht Club in Dayton, Ky.

Harold DeMarrero of Camp Springs, Ky., stands on his houseboat and talks about a new law to reduce boat speeds and the no-wake zone. (Craig Ruttle photo) | ZOOM |

        Mr. DeMarrero has spent 53 years navigating the Ohio River, some as captain of the Delta Queen riverboat, as a barge captain and as a private boater. But he said recent years have seen a proliferation of boaters near downtown Cincinnati, especially on weekends.

        “I do most of my cruising on the weekdays and leave Saturdays and Sundays to the idiots who show off on the river,” said the 63-year-old Camp Springs resident.

        Across the river in Ohio, Thomas Aultz worked on his boat in the Four Seasons Yacht Club in Cincinnati and echoes similar praise for the new regulation.

        “Hopefully it will encourage more people to slow down and be courteous,” said Mr. Aultz, a Loveland resident and Ohio River boater since 1985.

        Kenneth Blake, harbor master for Watertown Yacht Club, said the weekend boat traffic between the bridges often churns the river like a crowded bathtub.

        “It's always in an uproar,” said Mr. Blake, who says he'll like the new regulation if enforcement is carried out fairly.

        Most local jurisdictions that enforce river boating regulations have not been officially notified of the new rules, nor have boaters, but that will change soon, said Barth Johnson, a captain in the Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Division.

        He said fines for violators will range from $25 to $200.

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