STATEWIDE — Another new year is upon us and at least one member of the Division of Boating and Waterways Commission hopes the state agency makes the following resolution for 2019: evolve and get with the times so the industry can welcome in a new generation of boaters.
Policymakers and industry leaders need to address the future of recreational boating with greater urgency, Division of Boating and Waterways Commission member Virginia Madueño told her colleagues during the agency’s Nov. 14 meeting at Alameda’s City Hall.
“Boating is definitely evolving. It’s changing,” Madueño said.
Madueño talked about “opportunity zones” in California, previously underserved places identified by the governor to provide private sector investment. Could a boating element be included in these opportunity zones and private sector investments in redevelopment or revitalization?
“We know the demographics are changing in California. Millennials are the fastest growing population in California. So what are we doing, as this agency, to … better address what it is that we do in communities,” Madueño said. “We need to evolve with time. Otherwise, we will no longer have a Boating and Waterways Commission.”
The commissioner added it is her mission to “alert, inform, engage and excite a new demographic for boating.”
So what, exactly,...
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One Response
I didn’t know it was that low. The only upside is that at least it may be less crowded out there in the future.
Yeah, boats are more expensive and so are slips, when you can find them. Millennials’ job opportunities are far less than for the two previous generations.
But fuel, regulatory, tax and operating costs have gone through the roof!
I was paying about .70/gallon for diesel fuel in San Pedro back in 1998, when I brought my Hatteras here from Florida. Now, it’s crazy. I couldn’t afford to fill up my 1500 gallon tanks today.