Re: [Paddlewise] A thought about jetskis and kayaks

I think Ralph hit the nail right on the head on why some sports/activities
can become unpopular. Personally, the only problem I have had with jetskis
is the fact that they dump as many unburned hydrocarbons into the
environment in just a few hours as an automobile does in 100,000 miles of
driving. I've had more problems with traditional power and sail boats
being jerks, myself.

However, we as kayakers are not immune from scrutiny ourselves. I paddle
with several clubs here in New England, and I have noticed a general lack
of RESPECT and AWARENESS among the members of one or two groups of
paddlers that paddle with several of these clubs. Things like landing on
private property without so much as even asking permission, blocking
marked channels, and blocking boat ramps when launching/landing are
becoming commonplace. I will add that there are other groups I paddle with
that go out of their way to make sure nobody does these things, but as we
have all said in recent days, it's the bad ones that stand out.

I think the best thing we all can do for ourselves as paddlers is to take
the initiative to regulate our own, before someone else decides we need to
be regulated by government. We still have a positive image, I think, and
we should try to keep it that way.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Wayne Smith
wsmith16_at_snet.net

Check out my sea kayaking & homebrewing page:
http://pages.cthome.net/wsmith16/home.html



>
> This is one of the many good ideas coming up in PaddleWise.  But I want
to
> get to another thought.  Isn't it amazing that a sport, jetskiing, that
is
> relatively new (I can't remember when the sport started taking off) and
has
> reached such huge numbers of advocates (the number of jetskis and
jetskiers
> greatly dwarfs the number of sea kayaks and sea kayakers) who have
shelled
> out mucho money and supported a large industry that has done extensive
> advertising, created a whole bunch of magazines (several of them
> individually have a circulation that is higher than all the paddling
> publications combined), etc. is probably on the brink of being
effectively
> shut down or very seriously curtailed.  That total ban it faces in
national
> parks, the many state-level strictures in the form of licenses,
mandatory
> training, etc. all are narrowing where a jetskier can go and how he or
she
> can operate.
>
> I am not feeling sorry for jetskiers, mind you.  But there are lessons
here:
>
> 1.  If you put out a recreational machine that is a high polluter such
as a
> jet ski, eventually the world will come crushing down on you.  The
industry
> has only itself to blame for this current predicament it faces.  It has
been
> stalling for years in cleaning up the machines.  Only now, faced with
that
> national park ban and other curtailments, is the industry now saying it
will
> act to reduce noise and environmental pollution.
>
> 2.  If you foster an image of hi-jinx and reckless behavior (which the
ads
> for jetskis almost always do) in order to sell you product, you help
create
> a good number of reckless operators.  This leads to annoying others and
also
> to a large number of deaths on the water.  This then leads to the type
of
> bans that are hurting the industry.  Again, the industry only has itself
to
> blame.
>
> I always thought that the jetski lobby was so strong that nothing would
ever
> come up to hinder where and how the machines operate.  So I am surprised
how
> many states and municipalities as well as the feds are tightening the
noose
> around the necks of the industry and its customers.
>
> I think as kayakers we should take notice.  While our boats are not
> polluters in themselves, we can have an impact on the environment in
other
> ways or have an annoying effects on others.  Issues like landing on
private
> property and not watching how we treat it or close encounters with
marine
> life which is covered by federal statutes in the US among other places,
or
> paddling without concern for the rules of the road causing problems for
> commercial maritime users of the waters.  (It's a theme I get into some
of
> the Dispatches I do for Canoe & Kayak magazine; one has a photo of a
sign at
> a NYC luxury yacht marina that says "No Jetskis, No Kayakers" i.e.
lumping
> us together with the dreaded jetskier!)  By and large, our industry is
more
> aware of such things and fosters safe, responsible behavior (180 degrees
> opposite of what the jet ski industry does, I feel) and we, in or clubs
and
> organizations and places like PaddleWise, also stress responsible safe
> operation of our vessels (jetskiers don't really have this, certainly
not as
> universally as we do).  Still it doesn't take much irresponsible
behavior
> and lack of consideration for the rights of others to find ourselves
also
> curtailed some in how we operate.
>
> We constantly need to watch ourselves to make certain we don't step over
any
> lines that could get us collectively in trouble.  I am really mindful of
> this.  For example, when I am cartopping a kayak, I am extra courteous
on
> the road, letting other cars merge into heavy traffic from shopping
centers,
> etc.  It is something I tend to do anyway but with that boat on my roof
> identifying my cult, I want to make certain that the general public gets
a
> good image of that cult.  Small things like that help give us a positive
> image.  Think in these terms whenever you are out on the road, or on the
> water or landing or launching.  Jet skiers clearly have not and they are
> beginning to pay a price for their oversight.
>



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