It happened again. A teenager on a jet ski looked over her shoulder at her fellower jet skier and plowed into a motorboat with a grandfather and three grandsons. The grandfather died and the girl on the jet ski is in intensive care. The one thing that really scares me about being in a kayak is a kid on a jet ski. I try to avoid them at all costs, and don't expect to find them in Maine next week, but they can be a real menace. I carry lots of safety gear and try to gain as much knowlege as possible when I paddle and wondered what I could do to protect myself and my fellow paddler from a careless jetskier. I've paddle in Maine a fair amount and I'm always on the lookout for for lobster boats, which are quick and rarely travel in a straight line. I always give them a wide berth when they are working their pots. I always have a small airhorn in my PFD pocket, but am considering mounting it directly on my boat for easier access in an emergency situation. Has anyone done any like this or do you have other ideas. I have a red boat, red and yellow PFD's and reflective tape on my paddles. We just spent three days camping on an island in Lake George in NY and only saw one jet skier at least a mile away. Very nice. An old timer told me that jet skis have been reduced by 80 percent since they enacted tough rules regarding training and where they can be used. John MacKechnie *************************************************************************** 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/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue Jul 19 2005 - 19:27:30 PDT
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