Weird Proposal

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Jun 11, 2004
1,922
Oday 31 Redondo Beach
Well, I think everyone can agree the idea of counting beverage containers in and out is preposterous. What annoys me more is the notion that we, boaters, are complicit in them being there in the first place. Maybe it's just my area, but every boater I know would be horrified to toss a can over, or a bottle, or a plastic one. OTOH, there are tons of litter that comes washing down the river or gets tossed by beach-goers and some other low life scum that I have observed just tossing their fast food crap on the ground when a trash can is 20' away.
I agree. It's like the boaters at Avalon being blamed for years for the high bacteria count in the bay when it turns out to be the leaking land based sewer system all along.
 
May 27, 2004
2,059
Hunter 30_74-83 Ponce Inlet FL
So, in a thousand years how will archaeologists determine our 20th century culture without artifacts? :eek:
 
Dec 26, 2012
359
MacGregor 25 San Diego
all big brother issues aside, with all the docks in all the marinas and launch ramps and all the boats in their slips, at their moorings, and coming off their trailers they would have to have a large army of people to actually count drinks coming on and off of boats. Not to mention the fact that a lot of people fill the cooler before bringing it aboard, or if the boat is trailered they load the drinks/cooler into the boat before even getting to the ramp. A huge number of bottles and cans are never visible to prying eyes.

The notion of anybody even being able to inventory somebody else's boat is just not feasible.
 
Oct 17, 2011
2,809
Ericson 29 Southport..
Another problem is, there are some people that run a little hotter than others, and if the day came when some H.O.A. gestapo mentality clown requested to look in me cooler, the chances are very highly likely that they might not be received very well.
 
Nov 26, 2008
1,970
Endeavour 42 Cruisin
Nanny state run amok.

If rec boater generated trash in the ocean is more than 1% I would be astounded. The trash I've seen on beaches up and down the coast is from storms and from commercial vessels.
I spent a lot of time on Abaco beaches this winter. Most of the trash on remote beaches was not cans and bottles. It was nets, lines, all kinds of junk that likely was put there by storms.

If we want to get serious, we should be tearing down houses near the ocean. Look at the amount of trash put into the ocean by Sandy, pulled from shore.

How many millions of homes and condos line the shore of the USA? Every time a wind storm comes, stuff left on the deck, porch or lawn gets blown into the water.

Knee-jerk, accent on jerk
 
Oct 17, 2011
2,809
Ericson 29 Southport..
It also sounds like he didn't get his ass kicked enough in junior-high, and wants the tradition to continue..
 

Bob J.

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Apr 14, 2009
775
Sabre 28 NH
Anything is possible when politically correct thinking & peer pressure plays into an equation. All one has to do is look at the past & you'll see why this idea, absurd as it sounds, could become favorable.

Here in NH there's a group that hangs out at boat launches on the lakes passing out information on invasive plant species. They conduct "voluntary" inspections of your boat & if you pass their inspection, you have their permission to launch. Although I would not want to be responsible for introducing an invassive species into a body of water, I can see where this idea could go.
 
Oct 3, 2011
835
Anam Cara Catalina 310 Hull #155 155 Lake Erie/Catawba Island
Stu, That is where you went wrong...
You should be drinking Sierra Nevada Summer fest..
Than offer them one or two to discuss the problem- ahh yes a Beer summit
They could than buy the next Round!
 

LuzSD

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Feb 21, 2009
1,009
Catalina 30 San Diego/ Dana Point, Ca.
I read the first few posts on this thread and was so in awe over it on multiple levels that I had to leave it as I was pretty much speechless. Now I see the response to Rick's note and I'm even more frustrated. I am committed to doing whatever I can to contribute and assist in maintaining healthy oceans but the this reads like a 4th grade writing project and the response from Sail Magazine might even be worse than the proposal itself. Please give us some credit for having brains and being a group by in large dedicated to being good shepherds of our magnificent oceans. :cry:
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Is it possible to make this unobtrusive by putting RFID tags on each bottle so they could be read by a scanner from the dock without boarding the boat? Then they could arrest you when you returned for not having a matching count.
Do not drink and boat. Very bad idea. Wait until the anchor is down or tied to the dock. Remember that drunk out west that was a cop or selectman or something and hit the sailboat from behind at night and killed one of the passengers? Everyone on this site wanted him to get the death penalty, now several posters on this thread are suggesting drinking and boating are AOK and methods to not get caught. If you don't like the laws elect people to change them, in the meantime, obey the law, don't lie, don't cheat, don't steal, and all the rest of the ten commandments.
 
Feb 26, 2004
23,353
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
Perdock was the sheriff's name. Bismarck Dinius was the Victim in the sailboat and he's the one who got charged by the corrupt Lake County DA's office. IIRC a female LEO who'd just retired was killed. The issue wasn't drinking, it was Perdock running his motorboat in the dark at high speed and hit a barely moving sailboat. Perhaps the folks on the sailboat may have one or two, but they were the victims.
 
Dec 11, 2008
1,338
catalina C27 stillwater
I find this whole thread ridiculous, and almost funny, except for posts that condone Big Brother type infringement on freedom and civil liberties. It is about responsibility folks.

This may sound ridiculously cruel and mean, but legislation that keeps people safe from themselves, (emphasis is "from themselves") has polluted the gene pool. Darwin is broken. I know this paragraph is an odd tangent, and these same folks, (who by their own actions should not live to procreate) hurt others, so laws ARE necessary to punish them in the event they survive... Still, and the reason for this paragraph, we have in many instances legislated common sense out of the human experience.

Jibes, you gotta be kidding. I move from land to water on my own private dock. Countless others hit the water bypassing marinas and slips. As a taxpayer do you want to fund another bureaucracy that attempts to legislate proper behavior????? How many RFID readers? Where you putting them? How are you going to patrol every access point? Drinks at waterfront restaurants? How you gonna RFID that?

I cannot tell you the last time I was on a boat that I didn't have an adult beverage. It is part of the relaxation of recreational boating. That being said, it takes responsibility to not be a BUI. In locales where the driver is to be alcohol-free a designated is chosen. That being said, all parties on board maintain common sense and a problem drinker is addressed.

I will continue to read this thread and either chuckle or shake my head. Just know this maxim from my perspective: in a blow, any port is a good port. To that end I will try to maintain a bottle of finest tawny on board at all times. Those of you who want to board my vessel and take a nip, know you are welcome. Just know we play by a responsible rule set around here... With everything moderation.... I don't need to pay extra taxes to keep me responsible...
 
Jun 4, 2004
287
Beneteau Oceanis 352 NYC
Who drinks beer out of plastic bottles? Just drink cans or glass bottles!!!!

Most of the plastic I see in the water, is either water bottles and being in NY, "East River Whitefish" (condoms). So do we start a return policy for both(YUCK).
 
Jan 27, 2008
3,092
ODay 35 Beaufort, NC
Jibes, you gotta be kidding. I move from land to water on my own private dock. Countless others hit the water bypassing marinas and slips. As a taxpayer do you want to fund another bureaucracy that attempts to legislate proper behavior????? How many RFID readers? Where you putting them? How are you going to patrol every access point? Drinks at waterfront restaurants? How you gonna RFID that?

...
Regarding RFID....yes just kidding. Regarding being a CAPTAIN of a boat and under the influence of an intoxicating substance, not at all. It is one thing to get intoxicated and put yourself at risk, another entirely to be the party responsible for several others in your care and be intoxicated. If a passenger on your boat falls overboard and drowns and you, the captain, are drunk, who do you think will be held responsible?
 

kenn

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Apr 18, 2009
1,271
CL Sandpiper 565 Toronto
The most promising solution so far is for volunteers at individual marinas to record the number of bottles aboard when a boat leaves the dock and then when it returns.
Ayup, dumb idea. A reasonable deposit rate, and continued good behaviour from most boaters should be sufficient.
 

LuzSD

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Feb 21, 2009
1,009
Catalina 30 San Diego/ Dana Point, Ca.
[QUOTE=" Regarding being a CAPTAIN of a boat and under the influence of an intoxicating substance, not at all. It is one thing to get intoxicated and put yourself at risk, another entirely to be the party responsible for several others in your care and be intoxicated. If a passenger on your boat falls overboard and drowns and you, the captain, are drunk, who do you think will be held responsible?[/QUOTE]

How did this become a debate about being drunk on the water....
 
Feb 26, 2008
603
Catalina 30 Marathon, FL
I would suggest the vast majority of trash finding its way into our waterways is being flushed out of storm drains. I don't think I've seen a single boater in recent years deliberately throw trash into the water.

Checking the number of cans on your boat in and out at the dock? As others have pointed out this is shear stupidity both logistically and logically.

This flawed idea comes from Rudy Socha, CEO of Wounded Nature. As an organization their motives may be pure, but this is a very clear example that good intentions and good sense do not always go hand in hand.

I also have to question the judgement of Becca Oken and her editor for publishing an idea so flawed.
 
May 4, 2005
4,062
Macgregor 26d Ft Lauderdale, Fl
just tack on deposits

doesn't ME, NH, and MA have a nickle a can, bottle, or plastic container with the stamp on the side?


can't imagine many tossed bottles when they are worth $.
 

Ross

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Jun 15, 2004
14,693
Islander/Wayfairer 30 sail number 25 Perryville,Md.
I have suggested a "Trash Bag Regatta" where all of the boats would be given a trash bag and a long handle net. The boats go out and look for flotsam and bag it. The first boat back with a full bag wins, the last boat back with a full bag also wins, in fact everybody wins.
 
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