Stinkpotters Under Siege!
The year 2018: Flash! JOHN STALLUPI, OWNER OF MANY RECORD SETTING MOTORYACHTS, HAS DONE IT AGAIN! HIS NEW BOAT, A 110- FOOTER NAMED “STIRRED NOT SHAKEN,” POWERED BY TWO HUGE GENERAL ELECTRIC MOTORS HUMMED ITS WAY TO A RECORD BREAKING SPEED OF AN ASTOUNDING 3-1/2 KNOTS USING TWO 100 HORSEPOWER ELECTRIC MOTORS! Sound ridiculous? Yet, if we who are involved in powerboats do not take action soon, the above scenario could become bitter reality and, we may find that, in the future, if one wants to go fast on the water, the only way may be in a … ah… (this is really hard to say) … a … SAILBOAT!
Right Again!
You know, I’m really not a boastful kind of guy, however, I must now tell you once again that, three and a half years ago, I saw it coming and called it right. In a series of five articles titled “Storm Warnings” done in August through December 1990, I accurately predicted that the Greenies would be targeting virtually helpless power boatmen (who don’t have powerful lobbies), because they are so visible and it would be so easy.
“The problem with causes is that once supporters of these causes get what they want, they have nothing to do except go for more. As a result, their goals get ever sillier and more insignificant. I applaud the small core of people truly concerned about the environment... They should be listened to and respected, but this is a very small group of citizens. The rest are phonies. Let me tell you why... These phonies who attach themselves to the above groups aren’t really concerned with the groups causes but with social change.” (August ‘90)
That says it all about the majority of environmental activists. Unable to afford boats for themselves, these unwashed, under achiever impostors are targeting “rich, affluent” boatmen because, in their Marxist eyes, it’s inherently unfair that some people can have boats and yachts while others can’t. It all started innocuously in 1971 with whackos targeting waste discharge from pleasure boats, overlooking the obvious fact that municipalities, farming, industry and Mother Nature dump the great majority of waste and pollution into our air and waterways. Then, in 1988, we found that, even though tin was abundant in sea water, tin based bottom paint had been outlawed and we had to live with bottoms that fouled after being in the water about an hour and a half.
Taking Soundings
“Soundings” is one of my favorite boating publications. Up until the last few years, it contained numerous interesting articles mostly about unusual boats, boat owners, cruising, maintenance, equipment, design, etc. How things have changed! I have the January ‘94 issue in my hot little hands and I’d like to relate to you some of the articles contained therein:
Headline: “JUDGE OVERTURNS CONVICTION IN FLORIDA ANCHORING CASE”
It seems the Florida Department of Environmental Protection went after a guy in a Morgan 41 (sailboat) because he wished to stay overnight at anchor in a State Marine Park. The state claimed that failure to take a mooring at night would result in “danger to boaters” and “damage to turtle grass or soft coral.” (I predicted in 1990 that soft rubber anchors will become law.)
Headline: “BOAT/US CREATES CLEAR WATER TRUST”
A weak attempt at appeasing the Greenies.
Headline: “JET BIKER RISKS $100,000 TRESPASS FINE. PRESERVATION GETS A BOOST”
A jet biker intentionally trespassed in the Florida Keys as a test case. He was fined $100 but declined to pay it, wishing to go to court. When he got to court, he found that the original trespass charge had been dropped and the Attorney General replaced it with a “Class A Misdemeanor” which is a criminal offense offering the prospect of a $100,000 fine and/or a year in jail.
Headline: “RIVER RIGHTS BLOCKING MOORING PERMIT”
Some poor guy in Massachusetts simply wanted to put a mooring in front of his house, but a neighbor is contesting via the Department of Environmental Protection that he owns “river rights” from the shoreline of his property to mid-channel and says he has the right to say who may lay a mooring in that area.
Headline: “BOAT BUILDERS TO BEAR BRUNT OF ONTARIO’S DISCHARGE BAN”
They want to completely eliminate grey water (soapy drain) discharges in Lake Ontario. Do you get some kind of message here? Yes, boatsmen are under siege from all sides. And all this occurred in just one issue of “Soundings” occupying most of the front part of the publication.
More proof that we are under attack: Powerboats of all forms are being banned from many lakes in Austria, Switzerland and Germany. A ban on the use of powerboats has been proposed by the Metropolitan Washington Air Quality Committee (MWAQC), San Diego is banning moorings and there’s much more.
MIND YOU, ALL THIS IS TAKING PLACE WITHOUT ANY SUBSTANTIVE PROOF THAT POWER BOATS DAMAGE THE ECOLOGY IN ANYWAY WHATSOEVER! These green bullies simply go after the most visible, least protected target they can find and to hell with the facts.
Mother Nature and Meatball Heros
“What these environmentalist duds are completely missing is the fact that humans are part of Mother Nature’s overall scheme also and must be included in the total picture! And just what do people do in nature’s scheme of things? Well, they consume, reshape the land, pollute, and kill animals for food or sport. Let’s face it, it’s what we do! Ergo, it must be what we were put on earth for (I know some people looking for the meaning of life will be quite upset to learn that, sadly, we were put here to buy Louis Vuitton luggage, build swimming pools, drive BMWs, and eat meatball hero sandwiches but the conclusion is inescapable).” (December ‘90)
We’re out of space. Next month, we will take a look at a blockbuster (?) book recently published, the sole purpose of which is to do in the powerboating industry. Besides, its lunchtime and I must take time to meditate about (scarf down) the meaning of life.
(Reprinted with permission of Regina Fexas.)
If you would like to read more of Tom's pearls of wisdom, tune in next Friday -- "Fexas Friday."
Better yet, why not get a full dose of infectious Fexas whenever you need it -- and buy one of the volumes below. Better yet, why not buy all of them -- we call them the "Fexas Five." They will provide many evenings of fun reading (better than Netflix), and you'll make the widow Regina very happy knowing that Tom will live on with you the way most of us remember him.
Order 1, 2 or "The Fexas Five" --
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Tom Fexas (1941-2006) was one of the most influential yacht designers of the last quarter of the 20th century. With the narrow Wall Street commuters that were built in the 1920s and '30s always on the back of his mind, he wanted to design boats that were at once fast, comfortable, seaworthy and economical to operate. Over the years, he and his firm designed over 1,000 yachts for some of the most prestigious boat builders in the world, including Choey Lee, Palmer Johnson, Grand Banks, Mikelson Yachts, Burger, Abeking & Rasmussen and many others.
Even though toward the end of his career he only designed megayachts and superyachts, including the remarkably influential PJ "Time" in 1987, he is best remembered for his first major vessel in 1978 -- Midnight Lace -- which became a series of 44-52-footers. They were light, narrow, and fast with relatively small engines. He was also influential in the boating community because of the monthly column he wrote for Power and Motoryacht, which began in its very first issue in January 1985.