The Lake Cowichan RCMP, along with the town and Cowichan Lake Marina, have put out six buoys on the east end of Cowichan Lake to help control boating traffic in that busy area.

Cpl. Kurt Gottfried of the RCMP went out with Mayor Ross Forrest and Shawn Shorsky, owner of the marina, to put out the buoys starting from the marina west to the Cowichan Lake Education Centre. The buoys are marked with No Wake on one side and Swim Area on the other.

Four buoys were placed from the marina west to the Cowichan Lake Education Centre, about 60 metres from shore using GPS so they were accurately placed, said Gottfried.

One buoy was placed across from the marina and one was placed in front of a residential area heading out of the lake.

The six buoys were purchased by the town for $2,000, which the previous council had budgeted for.

Two more buoys will be purchased by Shorsky and be installed soon.

“I really saw a need for this in our community and I was very pleased to be involved in the entire process,” said Gottfried. “I have heard so much positive response that I know these buoys will make the lake a much safer place. It will be a huge improvement for boating and swimming on the lake. Immediately after the buoys were installed boats began using the centre of the lake to leave and enter the area and they slowed down considerably as they approached shore or the marina.”

Gottfried first got the idea for the buoys after a boating accident two years ago when five children on an inner tube were hit by a boat during a water skiing lesson, halfway between the Cowichan Lake Marina and the opposite shore. Two of the girls were taken to the hospital.

The girls had been towed behind a boat, but the boat disconnected them and went to refuel. That’s when the other boat hit the tube. No charges were laid.

Gottfried said the Town of Lake Cowichan has strongly supported the initiative, with Nagi Rizk, town superintendent of public works, purchasing the buoys.

“If it still looks like more are needed then, as I have been saying, more will be added as the public sees fit,” said Gottfried. “However, the initial six buoys have already had an impact on making the lake a safer place to recreate. I am also aware that other areas of the lake are looking at getting buoys to protect their docks and swimmers.

“The first six (buoys) are just the initial step in making improvements to a very large lake. I totally expect that once this area is completed other areas will follow. I was recently on Shawnigan Lake and noticed that the markers, buoys and signs were old, but the entire lake was marked, so lots more can be done on this lake.”