Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer
A Trump Lake George Boat Parade organized by The Adirondack Republican Women’s Club of Warren County is set for Saturday, Aug. 17. from noon to 3 p.m.
It will start at Plumb Point on the lake’s east shore and proceed clockwise in a circle that includes passing Lake George Village and The Sagamore.
The rain date is Sunday, Aug. 25.
ARWCWC President Linda Clark said she was inspired to do the parade by events she saw elsewhere in the country.
“I saw the flotillas both down on Long Island and in Florida in the last presidential election, and I thought they were really cool and looked like they were lots of fun,” she said. “That was one of my go-to goals when I took over as president — to do a flotilla on Lake George.”
“We’re looking forward to a happy event,” she said. “We want it to be fun. We’re not looking to agitate.”
“You can come in and join the parade and leave when you’re ready,” Ms. Clark said. “It’s a long route.”
Four years ago, there was a boat parade on Lake George in support of then-President Trump. Lake George Park Commission Executive Director Dave Wick estimated at the time that 150 boats participated.
It was not put on by the Republican Women’s Club. Ms. Clark believes it was run by no organization in particular.
The 2020 parade reportedly caused dangerous wakes as participating boats were going “anywhere between 15 and 20 miles an hour,” Mr. Wick said at the time.
The Chronicle reported then that the waves generated by that parade washed a public dock at Long Island campsite 13 off its fasteners, damaged a boat docked there, and caused those campers to suffer “minor injuries.”
A camper posted on Facebook: “The wake from these boats caused waves which came in 5 and 6 feet high. My son and friend were sleeping on the boat. My husband and camping neighbors rushed to the dock to try to stop the boat from slamming on the rocks. We were holding on for dear life when the sheer force of the wave caused the dock to break away, sweeping my husband and neighbors into the water under the boat…Was a pretty traumatic ending to an otherwise beautiful weekend.”
Ms. Clark said she interviewed people who were involved in the 2020 version to try to make improvements. “I decided that if we were going to do this, we needed to do it with a lot of attention to considering the people on the lake, both the homeowners and other boaters.”
There will be a 10 mph speed limit lowering to 5 mph within 100 feet of the shoreline. The boats will be in single file with a lead boat that no one is allowed to pass. The procession will not go into any bays. Ms. Clark said Warren County Sheriff’s personnel will maintain safety.
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