CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Area waterways should be busy this upcoming 4th of July.
Steve Moulis, manager of the Chain O'Lakes Marina in Fox Lake said this season has not been as busy as last year at this time, but he blames two weeks of rough weather for keeping people off of the water.
Moulis said he was happy to see the dockside economy move past the COVID pandemic.
"It's nice. It helps all the restaurants get going once again now that they're opened up," Moulis said.
Moulis said there was a big surge in boating, because of the pandemic, and that all of his marina slips are full. He added some of the boaters need to learn the finer points of navigation. For example, he said he can spot the rookie boaters whenever they try to fuel up their boat.
"To stop the boat, instead of having brakes like you do in a car you put the boat in reverse. But they shut the engine off while the boat is coasting in and by that point there's no way of stopping it other than trying to grab the pier," Moulis said.
While some of the new boaters have power boats or Wave Runners, Moulis said most of the new boaters are getting pontoon boats.
Related
