Return of the jetskis!

[Bad Obsession]

I will agree......

THat there are descent people who ride jetskis. That being said, in my area, the vast majority of them don't have a clue. When I was younger I was out racing my sunfish against a friend's sunfish. The wind was light and these damn jetskis kept coming close to us and trying to throw a spray up on us. I almost took my daggerboard out of the trunk to throw it at them.There should be more regulations placed on jetskis. They should not be allowed to fly around harbours and ancorages at 80 miles an hour. True they don't throw up much of a wake but I have watched people on jetskis run swallom courses through ancored boats (I was waiting for them to hit a boat or run into an ancor line).Having uninformed people ride jetskis is similar to sailing out on the bay when a cloud of the biting black flies descends upon your boat. The sailing is still fun but it requires plenty of repellant and it is somewhat annoying.

 

[Joseph Shirley]

I developed a dislike for them when they used my boat for a turning

mark for their races when we were at anchor. If I'm not mistaken they are prohibited from San Juan County (The San Juan Islands of WA), and where they are allowed they will soon be required to take courses, pass a test, and get an operators license.I have come to dislike them immensely.Joe S

 

[Bill Roosa]

less regulation more personal responsability

I have no problem with PWC. Letting the government regulate my pleasure is just a dumb idea who's time will never come.Perhaps the old school "golden rule" would be appropriate.Going 80 knots in the harbor is ok as long as you don't endanger anybody or try doing it a 0500 in the morning on Saturday or Sunday. I'm not sure there are lots of folks that can go 80 and not endanger something but as long as you are willing to fix what you break and don't try suing me for putting my boat "in the way" of your PWC when I'm at anchor and you are under way what is the harm.On another note, if you find that a PWC is "bugging you" for what ever reason, get the guy/gal's attention with a spot light, offer them a beer and ask them to go somewhere else so you can have some peace. Bribery is an age old tradition that should be revived and used more often IMHO.

 

[GuyT]

Hey Bill Roosa !!

Glad to see you make it back from your tour of duty!When did you make it back?

 

[Timo42]

Legislation isn't the answer...

You can't fix stupid, let Darwin sort it out. I have a bigger problem with the dip@#$%s who have no idea what the trim tab button is for, who plow along with the bow in the air and enough wake to surf on, who use sailboats for slalom poles. *grr

 

[Banooma]

pesky

I learned to fear them when I was a teen learning to waterski, and a cocky jetskiier was taunting my friends in the boat (and me in tow). Whether I fell out of fear of disaster, or simply because I was just learning my balance, I don't remember, but I did fall. When you're wearing a ski vest and floating skis, there's little to do to move out of the way when a PWC is coming straight towards you... except to hope the individual steering sees you, and has all his mental facilities.Now that my time in the water is mostly operating a bigger vessel than theirs, I look at them as a another variety of greenhead flies. I've even rented one once, and enjoyed it, but decided 45 minutes of jetskiing every 10 years is probably enough for me.

 

[Phil]

Bills idea +

Bill, I think you may be on to something. Give them a beer, get their reg #, then go call the marine police and suggest a breath test be given. Its all in the follow thur.

 

[William]

enforcement

I am sure that in most areas they have rules about how and at what speed to operate the PWC's. In Michigan we have a lot of laws that apply but you have to get some one to enforce them. We are lucky at our marina because the sheriff keeps his boats there ( I think deep inside is a boater). I have seen him stop a lot of the PWC's (or anyone else that needs it) and give them a talking to about the rules. We have a stat boat launch next to our marina so we get a lot of them in and rarely do we have a problem with them. They go way off shore and leave the boaters alone for the most part. It is more common to see them being towed in because they have run out of gas in the middle of Lake Huron. I think the real problem with most jetskiers is the same as with rude power boaters, they have never taken a class and have no idea of what is expected of them. I think if the rules are enforced and people seen that it would change things. It was almost 80 here today....I reeealllly need to get my boat in the water!

 

[Jim Kolstoe]

Agree its the user

I'm not bothered by pwc so long as they keep a reasonable distance. There are laws regarding how close they can come to another vessel while traveling fast, and fortuately we have a frequent sheriff's marine patrol on our lake. During my time as a volunteer SAR diver I saw pwc's used to good effect in river rescues, and I have observed people using them without making pests of themselves, so I know its the user, not the machine. That being said, I took great glee,while rescuing a pwc in the middle of the lake, in towing him back to shore under sail.Jim Kolstoe, h23 Kara's Boo

 

[tcbro]

Welcome home Bill Roosa

Glad to see you back. Hope all went well for you on your tour. I think my nephew is headed back to Bagdad in the fall.

 

[Randy Rohrbeck]

You can always do what the Hobie guys do

I can't believe someone hasn't already posted this link

 

[Charlie]

Air Force

Those Airmen from Selfridge ANG Base have all the advantges!! lol