The City of Petoskey and Petoskey Yacht Club have partnered to provide six life-saving pieces of equipment to the Bayfront Park breakwater starting this spring.
The life rings came about when members of the club connected with the city’s Parks and Recreation Director Kendall Klingelsmith to discuss options. The six life rings will be placed in various locations along the structure, which is most often referred to as the breakwall, including two at the end by the pierhead light. Each 24-inch life ring is enclosed in a case that includes a 90-foot rope. They are available to anyone who needs them at any time.
“I hope we never have to use them,” Klingelsmith said. “I’d been thinking for a while that a life ring would be worth pursuing. We were happy that the (yacht club) contacted us about it.”
He added that other coastal communities in Michigan and elsewhere have similar emergency items available to the public on major lake or ocean coastlines.
Before finalizing plans, the city had to get approval from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which oversees operations on the breakwall. Once the approval came, the city and the yacht club essentially split the cost. They will be installed in early spring and removed around late October each year, since the life ring kits likely won’t last through the harsh winters.
Klingelsmith even wonders whether a serious summer storm could damage them. If so, both parties plan to replace them, just as they would if the rings are ever used for life-saving purposes.
“We’ll keep our eyes on (the life rings),” he said. “We can get some big storms in the summer as well. It’s a good and important investment.”
The Petoskey Yacht Club was formed three years ago and, despite not having a physical home, is focused on providing educational and safety information about water activities to the community, said board member Chrissie Rellinger Smith. These efforts include programs tied to boating safety, teaching children how to sail and more. The yacht club already has more than 400 members.
“We noticed there were these types of (life rings) near marinas and piers along Lake Michigan in other communities,” Rellinger Smith said. “So many people swim off the breakwall there and it’s just something we wanted for the community. The (parks and recreation) department was very supportive.”
The devices are easy to use and come with directions, although Klingelsmith admits it is pretty obvious how to use them.
“We want to remind people that these aren’t toys,” Klingelsmith said. “They need to be respected and only used when needed for the right reasons.”
Rellinger Smith said the Petoskey Yacht Club is hoping to find a permanent home in the years ahead to support its growing membership. She added that it is surprising the community has never had its own yacht club before. The nonprofit organization has started to save capital for the purpose of buying land for a future clubhouse.
“We’re a community-based organization that wants to support (water) activities in Petoskey,” Rellinger Smith said. “This is the type of safety issue we want to find a solution for.”
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey Yacht Club, city partner to provide life rings along breakwater
Reporting by M. Alan Scott, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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