Alarming news has reached me that longstanding events here on Saipan have been cancelled or forced to change radically. The Laguna Regatta, longest running sporting event in Micronesia at 34 straight years and counting is among the casualties. The swimming race called Hunt for Managaha is another. The Escape from Managaha swim event is on-again-off-again and hopefully will be able to get “permission” to continue. The 2nd Annual Flipper Race may be in peril. The USCG person in charge on Saipan this time around apparently confuses his mandate of making the waters safe for the public, with closing the waters off from use by legitimate activities entirely.
These events have been on-going for quite some time and are held with due concern for the safety of the general public and the participants. They have a perfect safety record. Coordination has always worked flawlessly between Commonwealth Ports Authority and Department of Public Safety Boating Safety and Fish and Wildlife all working together with the U.S. Coast Guard in the past.
The local USCG officer-in-charge does not own the Saipan Lagoon. He should be there to assist government agencies and private organizations organize events so that our citizens and our visitors and tourist guests can safely enjoy our wonderful lagoon. Instead what we find are a commanding lieutenant and a his lone staff person acting as barriers to these events by requiring ridiculously long “application” lead times and pretending that rules prohibit the crossing of our infrequently used boat channel. Commercial shipping of any size uses this channel only a few times a week. It has always been quite easy to coordinate those few vessels and other small boat traffic with the few minutes it takes some swimmers or few seconds it takes some boats, to cross the channel.
A lot of boats and people cross the shipping channel every day. Now we are told that this particular person’s interpretation of the rules of the road preclude crossing the channel? I find this hard to believe. The events mentioned above and others like them are havens for clean family fun and competition with many local residents and plenty of our tourists participating. We feel that to wind down years of tradition, and may I add a perfect safety record, because one individual spends a bit too much time interpreting “the book,” is irresponsible, intrusive and unnecessary.
May I ask you to please look into these allegations and determine for yourself the correct course of action, and having done so, please direct your local representative to work with, not against the people he is here to serve?
We understand that with the recent “federalization” of immigration here in the CNMI, and with a buildup of military personnel ongoing in Guam, that you in the Coast Guard have additional security duties. We don’t feel that the event and general public use of the public waters around Saipan constitute any undue danger to national security and years of safely held events have proven that public safety is certainly not an issue.
We ask your help in alleviating what has become a burdensome problem where once we had useful cooperation. Thank you for taking time to address this issue.
REP. STANLEY
MCGINNIS TORRES
17th CNMI Legislature
