Boating this weekend? You’ll have lots of company
After the City of Pittsburgh was chartered in 1816, it took a while for its residents to discover the recreational value of its waterways. About 200 years.
Now that most of the surrounding mines, mills and sewage outflows are shuttered, the rivers are clean enough to support a mayfly hatch and resident bald eagles swoop down to catch fish. The extended Memorial Day holiday has become the unofficial launch of boating season and one of Pittsburgh’s busiest water weekends.
Despite gray skies and morning showers expected Saturday, traffic will likely back up behind regional boat ramps. On a sunny warm Sunday, vessels from kayaks to yachts are expected to crisscross near the confluence of the Allegheny, Monongahela and Ohio rivers.
A train derailment on Thursday near the mouth of Guy Run in Harmar will put a damper on holiday boating.
On Friday afternoon, a Coast Guard spokesman said most safety restrictions for recreational and commercial traffic on the Allegheny River had been lifted, with a few exceptions. A 2mile stretch from the Pennsylvania Turnpike bridge at Harmar downstream to the Oakmont Yacht Club remained restricted. Passage through the safety zone could be granted by contacting the Coast Guard day or night at VHF channel 16 or by calling 412-6397288. Salvage was expected to continue for weeks, and boaters may be asked to wait a short time until salvage vessels clear the area.
Last week, before the derailment, John Campbell, of Monroeville, had his bowrider runabout moored on the Allegheny River wall at Point State Park. He said the variety of boats on Pittsburgh’s rivers has grown in the last 20 years, and he likes watching how people use the waterways.
“It used to be a few passing bass boats, the Gateway Clipper and girls sunning themselves on deck boats at The Point,” he said. “Now, during a ballgame in the summer, it’s almost a traffic jam. Big boats, little boats, everybody’s got a boat. House boats and yachts motoring in from Cincinnati, jet skis, people drinking on those little tiki boats and tons of kayaks everywhere. You never used to
see any of that.”
To provide some sense of order, Fish and Boat regulations govern what vessels can do and where on the water they can do it.
Although Pittsburgh is about 2,000 nautical miles from the Gulf of Mexico, it is America’s fourth busiest inland port. Industrial vessels are notoriously difficult to maneuver — it can take up to a mile for a loaded barge to stop. By necessity they have the right of way on the water. Fortunately for everything else, barges are banned from passing The Point on holidays, during ballgames, stadium concerts and any time high
recreational water traffic is expected, like this weekend.
Some watercraft churn up big wakes, others are made for jumping them. But an unexpected wake can swamp a kayak, canoe or other nonmotorized boat.
In 2019, the Fish and Boat Commission expanded the existing no-wake zone near the confluence. From May 1 to Nov. 1, boaters are required to operate slowly and create no wake on waters in all directions from The Point. On the Ohio River, the no-wake zone extends downstream to the West End Bridge. On the Mon, the zone is a short strip of water upstream to the Fort Pitt Bridge. On the Allegheny, no wakes are permitted all the way upstream to the Veterans Bridge.
Anglers are generally relieved to find waters where they are not rocked by wakes, unintentionally or otherwise. But tournament anglers say their interests weren’t considered during creation of the Allegheny no-wake zone.
“We fish on a time limit, that’s why we buy these big [outboard] motors,” said one bass tournament veteran who asked that his name be withheld because he doesn’t want to “make enemies” at Fish and Boat.
Changes were made recently that may impact water skiing and other modern watersports, including aquaplaning, wake surfing, kite skiing, parasailing and activities on other boat-towed devices. At a Fish and Boat Commission meeting in February, existing regulations were expanded and restrictions placed on special water ski areas on Pittsburgh’s rivers.
Ski-related watersports can be done anywhere there is not a special regulation prohibiting it. On the Allegheny, vessels pulling boattowed recreational devices generally have the right of way in a designated ski zone located off Blawnox behind Nine Mile Island.
On the Monongahela, waterskiing and other boattowed watersports are prohibited on a nearly 2-mile industrial stretch from the Clairton-Glassport Bridge to the Union Railroad Bridge at Clairton.