I've had a lot of fun reading the Jet Ski and PETAJ posts (thanks, all). But, I have to admit, that my on-the-water problems have for the most part been by seemingly good intentioned people who just didn't know what they were doing - mainly power boaters, but a couple jet skiers. I've had several apparently newbie boat owners see me as they went screaming through the water, feel like they were endangering me (I thought everything was fine, as long as we weren't on a collision course), and in an attempt to do what was right, slow wayyyyyy down. Well, as those on this board know, a power boat at full throttle throws much less wake than one throttling back to a slow trot. The wakes don't really bother me - if I can't manage a boat wake, I really shouldn't be out in unprotected water anyway. But, it's somewhat comical to watch them as they first think "Ah oh, I better slow down" to "oppps, THAT's WORSE, SPEED UP" to "Oh man, am I a dumb ass or what!" Of course, they never say anything, but the changing looks on their faces tells the whole story. I've also seen some dumb ass (excuse me) power boaters who apparently have never read a chart on the area they're in. They'll go screaming into areas with under water obstructions that at low tide can easily punch their hull, or blow across areas that transition from deep water (as in 5 feet or more) to water that is measured in inches, and so forth. Or, they'll pass just upwind (as in feet) instead of downwind of a crab pot bouy and wonder why they got the line tangled in their props. Go figure. My home area has notably shallow water - lots of 1s and 2s marking water depths around here - and on one particular day last summer I passed one boat patiently waiting for a rising tide to get back home, one churning up mud as they tried to get free, and another big boat (like a 30 footer or something like that) stuck not more than 10 yards outside of the channel marker. I talked to the last guy. He said the silt on the bottom must have shifted over time because surely his boat wasn't' big enough to get stuck in the channel. I informed him that he wasn't in the channel, he was outside of the channel. He said "What are you talking about? I've got the red marker on my left." And I said, "Yeah, but you're 'returning' so the red marker should be on your right." He gave me a look like I was an idiot, so I told him the tide was still going down, and I wished him luck. The real pleasure in that one was watching his wife trying not to laugh at him. Once, she almost spit soda and a moment later she had to muffle her giggles with a beach towel. Rick PS - To be fair, I have to admit that I've had to walk off of a few mud flats pulling my kayak behind me. That, or do the gorilla walk :-) *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I just returned from Key West. I rented a 19 foot power boat for me and the family to run about in. It was interesting and a bit intimidating motoring about near very large moving cruise ships in a somewhat tight area with about a bazillion jet skis blowing around trying to watch the water depth and not spill my beer. Ok so I lied about the beer. But it was a bit of an eye opener applying the rules of the road for real and trying very hard to get it right. Even passed a kayaker. She had a very good forward stroke. There is a lot more to power boating than I had anticipated. If I had not at least had a small foundation in getting about on the water it really could have gotten weird. I found it interesting that my wife, who is a very intelligent and logical person grounded us nicely on mud flat. She didn't put the sudden change in water color together with a change in depth. We managed to get off without too much trouble and have a hell of a good time snorkeling in shallow water near some tree filled keys. Jim et al ----- Original Message ----- From: <Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com> > I've had a lot of fun reading the Jet Ski and PETAJ posts (thanks, all). > But, I have to admit, that my on-the-water problems have for the most > part been by seemingly good intentioned people who just didn't know what > they were doing - mainly power boaters, but a couple jet skiers. > Rick *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
<Rick.Sylvia_at_ferguson.com> wrote: >> I've had a lot of fun reading the Jet Ski and PETAJ posts (thanks, all). But, I have to admit, that my on-the-water problems have for the most part been by seemingly good intentioned people who just didn't know what they were doing - mainly power boaters, but a couple jet skiers. >> Great stories, Rick. I've had my share of fun watching other boaters stuck on sand bars (and done my time enjoying the ebb and flood while stuck myself!!). Here's the best one ... and it's one for sea kayakers, not power boaters. One warm late spring afternoon my SO and I scooted across the tide flats on Willapa Bay, WA on a falling tide to the Refuge ramp, avoiding stranding by an hour or so, and proceeded to pack gear and load up when ... up drives a college outing group, some eight or ten strong, mostly newbies with one or two more experienced paddlers. They proceed to unload and get ready to launch. One guy seems to be the leader because everybody else is asking him questions about packing, and so forth. We wonder what they intend -- looks like they have overnight gear, so they must plan on going over the same ground we did, which is now dry and will be dry for another four hours ... extending into what will be a very dark night (no moon). Actually, "dry" is wrong, because much of what they might get stuck on is ploof mud -- thigh deep or so, and stinky as hell. they can't drag kayaks over it. Squirming a little, but not wanting to intrude, we slowly pack our last few bits. Finally, I can't stand it any longer. My curiosity is killing me: what do these folks plan to do? So, I go over to the ostensible leader and ask him how they plan to deal with the falling tide and where they plan to camp. He looks at me blankly and asks, "What's a tide?" It stopped me cold. I could not get a coherent word out. So, I just mumbled about water depth variation and turned and left. I have since wondered what happened. It was warm, and they had good clothing, so they were not in danger. Did they spend the night stranded in their boats? Did they abort? Did they go ashore at a nearer shore and camp illegally? Did any of them later graduate from college? I wonder. -- Dave Kruger Astoria, OR *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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