K’ville ranks third in boating

Knoxville may have a reputation as a football town, but the city was recently recognized for its superiority in a different sport — boating.

Knoxville was ranked as the third best city in the U.S. to live and boat by Boating Life magazine. Tampa Bay and Fort Lauderdale place first and second, respectively, while San Diego tied Knoxville for third.

“The Tennessee River, which runs right through downtown, is part of every aspect of life here,” the magazine wrote in its July issue. “Upstream of the city, the river is a popular fishing and camping spot. Closer to the city, recreation is ever feeding from the river.”

The magazine investigated boating communities throughout the country, looking for the variety of boating opportunities, boat-friendly regulations, water access, availability of waterfront homes, health of the local economy and overall lifestyle for boaters.

Trey Forgety, the former vice president of the University of Tennessee sailing club and a graduate student in law, said the infrastructure of Knoxville is very boater-friendly.

“We have a large number of marinas and boater-friendly venues. We have the marina near the stadium. We are one of the very few cities that has a college football venue that close to water. Calhoun’s has docks. There’s Cove Park out in Farragut,” Forgety said.

“Students are really interested in getting out in the water, and the community is interested as well,” Forgety added.

Fort Loudoun Lake is a hot spot among the nautical lot. The United States Power Squadron, which is an American boating club, and the U.S. Coast Guard Auxilary are both stationed in the area, Forgety said. They promote the boating scene by providing classes and discounted insurance.

Forgety said an emphasis and increase of boating safety has added to a growing population of water lovers.

“There has been a lot of trouble in the past with inexperience or uneducated boaters that didn’t necessarily mind their rules of the road,” he said. “Boaters seem to be getting conscious of better safety and interest in improving it.”

Between the Vol Navy, the sailing club, the rowing team and recreational boaters, University of Tennessee denizens make up a large part of the Knoxville boating community, said Ben Johnson, a junior in finance who works at the Volunteer Landing Marina.

“(The university is) kind of the big draw here because of football games and everything. Our marina fills up every weekend we have a game, and there’s not an open dock on the whole river here,” Johnson said. “There’s really a lot of stuff for students to do down here.”

Activities range from wakeboarding, jet-skiing, motor boating and sailing.

“Most of the time through the fall and spring of the year we have excellent sail boating, and during the summer we have excellent power boating,” Forgety said.

Whether racing, skiing or sailing, Johnson said it is impossible to dislike the Knoxville boating experience.

“If you’re having a bad day out on the lake then you just don’t need to be getting out of your house,” Johnson said.