Lake of the Ozarks residents worry about another 'Party Cove'

SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. -- Until a few years ago, residents say, the cove near the 18-mile marker on the Shawnee Bend side of the main channel of the Lake of the Ozarks was a pretty quiet place, where families could enjoy the water.

Today, boats can be heard roaring around, and the water is littered with beer cans and other items people decide to toss overboard.

Residents say hundreds of boats go in and out of the cove on weekends, and some contend it's all about the name: Anderson Hollow Cove. They fear some boaters are mistaking the cove for one with the same name at the 4-mile marker in another part of the lake.

That place, commonly called "Party Cove," is on the Grand Glaize Arm in Lake of the Ozarks State Park. It draws thousands of boats each weekend and is known for its party atmosphere.

Residents whose homes and condominiums line the less popular Anderson Hollow Cove say added boat traffic is wreaking havoc on docks and causing shoreline erosion. They say rowdy boaters are making the area dangerous.

"It's becoming a real problem, we see boats come in and out all day and 100-fold on weekends," Thomas Sazama, a member of the Evergreen Condominium property owners association, said. "This is becoming a real problem because this Anderson Hollow Cove is becoming a minor Party Cove."

But Missouri State Water Patrol Sgt. Nick Humphrey insists large numbers of boats gathering in coves is a problem all over the lake.

"Big boats, rough water and crowds -- that's the complaints we hear," Humphrey said.

Sazama said residents applied to the Water Patrol for no-wake buoy permits, thinking many boaters would go somewhere else if the cove was restricted to idle speed. But Sazama noted the cove does not meet the criteria for no-wake buoys. Issues considered include width and length of a cove and safety.

"There should be no-wake buoys all the way across the mouth of the entrance to the cove," Sazama said. "This would alleviate almost all of the risks."

Humphrey noted the patrol must take a balanced approach.

"We can't just permit no-wake idle speed buoys for every cove," he said. "If we did that, where would families go to ski and moor or ride PWCs? It's happening everywhere."

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Information from: Lake Sun Leader, http://www.lakesunleader.com