PORT CLINTON, Ohio — UPDATE: Jake Burgy said the low-hanging lines were fixed in time for his first tour on Thursday.
The original report is below:
A Port Clinton boat-touring company's growth required getting bigger boats. But power and phone lines knocked down by a storm in April are still too low for some boats to go under.
Jake Burgy, the owner of Lake Erie Sailing Charters, said FirstEnergy had put up new poles and wires, but the cables were initially very low and sailboats hit them.
Burgy said FirstEnergy raised the lines and said they were at the proper height: 83 feet.
"They're still only around 65 feet," Burgy said. "I didn't believe them and hit the lines just to prove they are not where they should be."
But FirstEnergy representatives said the problematic lines aren't theirs.
Burgy said other boaters haven't noticed the low-hanging lines and actually ran into them. One boater damaged key parts of his boat by running into the lines.
"He hit them hard enough that he got caught up into them and the bow of the boat actually raised up and did a little bit of damage to his VHF antenna and his [Wind Direction Indicator] and that's when I think everyone starting getting attention that we have a serious problem," Burgy said.
Burgy said that during the week on a sunset tour, he charges $600. For a full-day tour on the weekend, it can be up to $2,500. He can take six people at a time on a tour. But his business stands to lose out on that income due to the obstacle posed by the lines.
Lake Erie Sailing Charters is how Burgy makes a living, and just maintaining his vessel can cost $40,000-$50,000, not including insurance and other expenses.
"When you have to start canceling charters it is very hurtful to your business. Crippling, actually," Burgy said.
On Monday afternoon, FirstEnergy officials called WTOL 11 and confirmed that crews were out to move its lines up further, so the telecommunications company can move theirs up further.
FirstEnergy said it will temporarily fix the issue for the current boating season and work on a long-term solution to make sure it never happens again.