Residents: Sadler Island site still a safety problem

Law enforcement and lake experts hope they’ve found a way to improve safety at what’s been called a dangerous spot north of Lake Wylie.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission decided in March both sides of Sadler Island would be designated no wake zones. Law enforcement and the Lake Wylie Marine Commission argued for more than a year that something was needed at Sadler Island, where Tailrace Marina and the U.S. National Whitewater Center operate in a heavy boat traffic area. Kayak and canoe rentals in the area were a dangerous mix with so many motor boats, they said.

Yet even after buoys went in, problems persisted. One resident told the marine commission at its June 22 meeting there are dangerous situations “every day” and he often has to “go out and help rescue people.”

Another resident said kayakers are getting out and “making this a de facto swimming hole.”

Another said boaters “come by and make a sport of knocking kayakers over.”

Part of the problem is the buoys. Older buoys in the area, combined with the new ones running along the island shoreline, have given boaters an impression that there’s center lane in the no-wake areas where they can travel full throttle, according to lake authorities.

“We can’t enforce them because they’re confusing even to us,” said Gaston County officer J.R. Hamrick of the buoys near Sadler Island.

Brian Carey with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department recommended a reconfiguration to a box shape so boaters understand it’s a full no wake zone. The marine commission voted unanimously to approve the recommendation.

The vote, however, did not extend the no wake zone as some residents urged. Extending it would require a vote from the wildlife resources group.

Lake law enforcement wants to improve safety in the area for everyone. Carey said he responded when a 22-year-old kayaker drowned June 20 near Sadler Island. A family of five had been kayaking, when the man left his kayak to swim and drowned near a steep drop in lake elevation.

The following weekend, officer T.L. Dula with the wildlife resources commission responded to several incidents nearby including underage children boating without life jackets and boaters speeding through no wake zones.

“I blue-lighted quite a few people,” he said.

Sadler Island isn’t the only point of concern on Lake Wylie. Residents Mark Perkins, Scott Webb and C.D. Collins spoke against a planned marina in Belmont near the Seven Oaks Bridge on the state line between Gaston and York counties. McLean, an 800-home development planned for Belmont and a small portion of York County, will bring a restaurant and marina to the area. The 40-slip marina worries residents.

“There’s no question there’s going to be a lot of congestion,” Webb said. “There’s going to be accidents.”

Residents say the area already is congested, a popular spot for anglers and a thruway for homeowners who live in the cove.

“Listen to the good citizens who live on the lake, who use the water,” Perkins said.

Hamrick said it will be 18 months before construction begins on the marina, and agreed the marina, as proposed, could be a problem for boaters.

“That is not finalized,” he said. “The marina, they’re going to have to redo it.”

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 5:39 PM with the headline "Residents: Sadler Island site still a safety problem."