Area boaters say they’re undeterred by high fuel prices

Thomas Laama has the luck of working and living close to the Chain O’ Lakes. As he described it, he is only three minutes away from the lakes, four minutes if he picks up his wife at the train station.

Reaching the lakes is when he can stop counting the minutes.

“The minute you get out on the lake, you are a million miles from everything you know,” Laama, of Ingleside, said. “So people that are into that come here to get away from everything that is five minutes outside of their lives.

“It’s a lifestyle if you’re in a marina. Here, this is where you come to get away from it all.”

This sentiment toward the Chain O’ Lakes and Fox River is echoed by many boaters and, some say, they won’t be brought down by worries about gas prices.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, regular gasoline retail prices are predicted to average about $3.95 a gallon nationally during the summer months.

“People have been complaining about gas prices ... but now they’re getting used to it,” said Daniel Mitchell, board member of the Fox Waterway Agency. “I expect to see just as many boats this year as in the past.”

More than 30 years in the boating business has shown Stephen Moulis, manager of Chain O’ Lakes Marina, not to worry about gas prices.

“As far as I’m concerned, the last few years we’ve had as many customers as we’ve had in the past,” Moulis said. “We’ve probably sold the same amount of fuel, so I don’t think gas has had a big impact on the boating.”

Likewise, James Bowgren, owner of Ben Watts Marina, said there is always a demand for boating in Lake and McHenry counties.

“We buy about the same [dollar] amount of fuel each year ... We just don’t buy as many gallons,” Bowgren said. “As the price goes up, people budget about the same every year, but they might not buy as many gallons. Your spare time is pretty important to people, so they’re going to use it however they can.”

As of the end of March, the Fox Waterway Agency sold 7,014 boating stickers, about 400 more than in March 2011, according to the Fox Waterway Agency.

Although marinas might not feel a dramatic impact from this year’s gas prices, some households are learning to budget to maintain their summertime boating.

“I think people are going to be using their boats less,” Laama said. “Whatever they spend in gas, they aren’t spending in restaurants.”

Stricter budgeting also is keeping more residents on the Chain O’ Lakes, said Lou Kent, Lake County marine unit commander.

“With the economy the way that it is, people are vacationing closer to home,” he said.

To save money, Mitchell no longer takes his boat to Lake Michigan, but he doesn’t see himself giving up boating completely.

The Lake County marine unit cut down on the number of days it patrolled the waters in 2010, focusing on Thursday through Sunday, but has not viewed gas prices as a problem, Kent said.

“We budget a year in advance,” he said. “The gas prices aren’t currently an issue for us, but if they do rise ... then we’ll have to reassess later.”

Residents can find boating alternatives in nonmotorized watercraft, such as kayaks and canoes.

“Anybody can afford a canoe or a kayak, so you can go boating no matter what your budget is,” Bowgren said. “It doesn’t have to be expensive.”

Laama now looks forward to the warmer weather that will allow him and his wife to take their boat up to a sandbar for snacking and sunning, he said.

As he described it, Laama can count on his wife reading her newspapers and refusing to get into the water while he splashes around “like a 9-year-old.”

“It’s an oasis,” Laama said.