Just want to remind everyone that it is summer and the idiots are on the water everywhere! Yesterday I decided to take my family out for a day on Lake Keowee SC to enjoy some fresh air sun and fun on the water. I put the ski rig on my fish and ski and to the lake we went. I was pulling my 18 year old son on a tube when he wiped out and a big Seadoo loaded with 3 Young girls(probably 16-18) literally ran over my tow rope between the boat and the tube as I was heading back to pick up my rider. They were gone before I could get a side number and thankfully was nowhere near my kid as I was already turned around heading to pick him up thankfully but it just reiterated the fact that while you may be a confident and capable watercraft operator there are MANY out there who are not. Stay safe...

Always a good reminder.

Glad everyone was OK.

IME the single best way to ensure ones own safety on the water, is be be vigilant and place all the responsibility in our hands. Meaning use our own experience and common sense to do

whatever is required not allow other, inexperienced, distracted and even possibly impaired operators, to have the responsibility / or even the opportunity of ensuring OUR safety; regardless of what evolution we may be engaged in. (fishing, skiing, tubing or even just cruising)

So this might mean operating earlier/later then usual, and or in a different location than usual.

When we chose to 'play' right in the middle of the circus,

we can expect to see the clowns.

When this happens, there is way too much trust and hope placed on another human who may or may not be capable of mission success.

And hope on the water can be a faulty strategy. 

My personal experience on the water puts me in a posture where I believe that every boat on the water -  is trying to run me over. 

 I rarely give them the opportunity. 

The few times I did, I was immediately reminded of why that was a bad idea.

Might seem extreme, but so is being dead. 

Did 28 years on the water cleaning up after these tragedies.

Been on this forum for 17 years.

Saw and have read enough instances like this one and worse,

to believe that there is nothing anyone of us can say

that will ever change crazy on the water.

But if we are staunch advocates for our own safety, the odds go way up.

Good Luck and Stay safe.

A-Jay

 

  

Words of wisdom^^^^…..and experience. When I was guiding and on the water all the time my attitude was always to expect the unexpected and to treat every other boat operator as if they knew nothing about the USCG Rules of the Road. More often than not I was right.  I had some tricks to help and thankfully never had an incident but I did have some close calls.  

The thing I encounter a lot on the water is the lack of respect.  Rarely do I feel like there is an imminent danger.

 

But the lack of people's respect to stay a certain distance from my rig while I'm fishing is outrageous.  Rarely is it from other boats that are fishing - its a wide array of pontoons, wake boats, ski boats, and kayaks that simply feel the need to come past at a distance that is way too close for me.

 

If I can cast to you, that's too close.  Just the other day, a pair of kayakers came past within one length of my boat and said "good morning" as they went by.  It's like dude, don't you understand that's too close?  I completely ignored them.

 

I would NEVER go past another watercraft of any kind that close.  People need their heads examined.

I stay off the water on holidays and weekends during the summer months.

Be safe 

2 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Always a good reminder.

Glad everyone was OK.

IME the single best way to ensure ones own safety on the water, is be be vigilant and place all the responsibility in own hands. Meaning use our own experience and common sense to do

whatever is required not allow other, inexperienced, distracted and even possibly impaired operators,

to have the responsibility / or even the opportunity of ensuring MY safety;

regardless of what evolution we may be engaged in. (fishing, skiing, tubing or even just cruising)

So this might mean operating earlier/later then usual, and or in a different location than usual.

When we chose to 'play' right in the middle of the circus, we can expect to see the clowns.

When this happens, there is way too much trust and hope placed on another human who may or may not be capable of mission success.

And hope on the water can be a faulty strategy. 

My personal experience on the water puts me in a posture where I believe that every boat on the water  is trying to run me over. 

 I rarely give them the opportunity. 

The few times I did, I was immediately reminded of why that was a bad idea.

Might seem extreme, but so is being dead. 

Did 28 years on the water cleaning up after these tragedies.

Been on this forum for 17 years.

Saw and have read enough instance like this one and worse,

to believe that there is nothing anyone of us can say that will ever change crazy on the water.

But if we are staunch advocates for our own safety, the odds go way up.

Good Luck and Stay safe.

A-Jay

 

  

I was watching the girl the whole time on the jet ski. The problem is she peeled left abruptly almost as if she didn't see the tube dragging behind my boat and it surprised her and she lost control a little bit trying to miss it. If she had of maintained her course she would have avoided me and the tube altogether. 

One of the many reasons I frequent this forum -- thanks for the reminder @IYAOYAS, and the words of wisdom @A-Jay!

 

Thankfully almost all of my local lakes are 5MPH max, no wake. I do get kayakers roaming by as @gim experiences. 

11 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

I was watching the girl the whole time on the jet ski. The problem is she peeled left abruptly almost as if she didn't see the tube dragging behind my boat and it surprised her and she lost control a little bit trying to miss it. If she had of maintained her course she would have avoided me and the tube altogether. 

I understand your mind set.

If that were me, I would tell you that problem is mine, because I was there in the first place.  I can only control what I do, when I do it and where.  

Stay Safe

A-Jay

 

5 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

I do get kayakers roaming by as @gim experiences. 

 

Another lake I frequent to target muskies has a rowing team out there at times.  Last season one of them ran into me.  I reported it to the County Sheriff's office because for years it was too many close calls.  A collision was the last straw for me.

 

I've only been out there twice this season and I have not seen them yet.  I will be going out there more in Sept/Oct when the water cools off.

@gim Holy cow!!! That's nuts!

They are hard core and do not look where they are going.  You know, the whole "facing backwards" while rowing thing.

 

Try facing backwards while you're underway in the Lund next time.  See how that works out.

I grew up near the Atlantic Ocean (MA) and was engaged in sailing as a youth -- the instructors hammered into our heads that our safety was our responsibility (including tipping over our own sailboats and having us learn/train how to right them ourselves) --- scan, scan and scan again --- basically hyper vigilance --- and having an uncle who was a Frogman/Navy Seal who taught us to respect the water at all times, detach/assess/act, have a plan A/B/C/D and be proactive to avoid danger --- two times on my last outing I had "party boats" flying in my direction (front of the boat way up in the air so there is absolutely no way they can see what is in front of them) so I had to move fast --- some of these pontoons have 400hp motors on them and are driven like racing boats --- so like a number of people have mentioned, I do my best to avoid holidays and weekends (on weekends I might go early or late to avoid as many of the irresponsible boaters as possible) --- stay alert/stay safe !  

A very high percentage of boating accidents are oncoming vessels. After multiple corrections they end up hitting head on.  If they read the USCG navigation rules, they would know the proper way to meet another vessel. What I would always do is choose a direction and make an exaggerated turn showing the full side of my boat and which way I was going.  It always worked.  Sometimes it was the proper way per the regs but many times it was not due to boat positioning and where I was situated.  

54 minutes ago, TOXIC said:

A very high percentage of boating accidents are oncoming vessels. After multiple corrections they end up hitting head on.  If they read the USCG navigation rules, they would know the proper way to meet another vessel. What I would always do is choose a direction and make an exaggerated turn showing the full side of my boat and which way I was going.  It always worked.  Sometimes it was the proper way per the regs but many times it was not due to boat positioning and where I was situated.  

A-Jay

@gim, I think we discussed it before but Rowers have hit a rod I had leaning over the side of the boat. I just let them do it for a “teaching moment” 😂 

 

the university row team is pretty angry but they won’t actually hit you. A small rowing club has taken over a smaller tributary portion of the reservoir and completely ruined it , it’s mostly clueless teenagers that will get in a formation that blocks off the entire river , making boating impossible for everyone else. That is, however, not their worst trait. They are unbelievably loud and giggly, it’s like trying to fish inside a high school 

 

@A-Jay, I had to recently take a course in order to legally boat in Alabama. I passed, yet still don’t know what in the Sam Hill it means to be a “stand on” vessel. It was in several of the questions. At least give way makes sense, what does stand on mean? 

1 hour ago, TOXIC said:

A very high percentage of boating accidents are oncoming vessels. After multiple corrections they end up hitting head on.  If they read the USCG navigation rules, they would know the proper way to meet another vessel. What I would always do is choose a direction and make an exaggerated turn showing the full side of my boat and which way I was going.  It always worked.  Sometimes it was the proper way per the regs but many times it was not due to boat positioning and where I was situated.  

That’s how I do it, if someone is coming right at me I just drive my arse right into a laydown tree on the bank 😂. Rules be damned , I just don’t want to get ran over and the bank is a good place to hide 

31 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

@A-Jay, I had to recently take a course in order to legally boat in Alabama. I passed, yet still don’t know what in the Sam Hill it means to be a “stand on” vessel. It was in several of the questions. At least give way makes sense, what does stand on mean? 

 

 

Stand-on vessel - The vessel that should maintain course and speed.

Give-way vessel - The vessel that must take early and substantial action to keep clear of the stand-on vessel.

 

We had to memorize The entire Nav Rules Book for certification.

I made flash cards.

https://www.amazon.com/Navigation-Rules-Regulations-Handbook-Color/dp/B0C2S9D4Z9/ref=sr_1_2?crid=2J84ZL3AQD5KR&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.8sSiaiyWZnSXmD4RqnJ5gNA_y7ZRKs3wWlSBb2rOXWJHciothXx_9Jkq09USRiLCp_V1J4CtgokxOKHzlH3aRuw0noZpgZjUOolLVNa_tlq23it-5mP_BzgNh8ej1Xh6fTonGJimPIMHO7KacBgyJy1_y7zs47fpb64hW4DDbckPmtRhLYlct4s5_qo3EBcsIDglgVgGo1gBveQmWr07Ug.zFmEPauFCepaF60eV4DixVhRxi-Z3dcoiM-fOC-x2h4&dib_tag=se&keywords=nav+rules+book&qid=1753121686&sprefix=nav+rules+book+%2Caps%2C218&sr=8-2

 

A-Jay

 

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I had to recently take a course in order to legally boat in Alabama

 

Minnesota just started this as of July 1.  Mandated for anyone under the age of 40 by a certain date.  It's being phased in over time.

 

My understanding is that it takes about 4 hours and costs about 60 bucks.  While I'm skeptical that it will alleviate any of the issues discussed here, it's better than nothing.  What we need is an increase of enforcement on the water.

 

I'm about to start a club that is in full opposition to these rowers.  #imminentcollision

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

I had to recently take a course in order to legally boat in Alabama. I passed, yet still don’t know what in the Sam Hill it means to be a “stand on” vessel.

Stand-on vessel & Give-way vessel -  I'm sure you're familiar with it, in Tennessee we call it  "Playing Chicken".  😆

25 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Stand-on vessel & Give-way vessel -  I'm sure you're familiar with it, in Tennessee we call it  "Playing Chicken".  😆

On big water and regardless of who has the right of way,

The Rule Of Gross Tonnage usually wins ~

(there's almost 60 feet of hull underwater right there)

Takes 2 miles to stop.

🙃

A-Jay

26 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

On big water and regardless of who has the right of way,

The Rule Of Gross Tonnage usually wins ~

(there's almost 60 feet of hull underwater right there)

Takes 2 miles to stop.

Even smaller lakes can have that issue

Local restaurant has cruise boats that are 50' long plying Minnetonka

Their turning radius sucks, and their stopping distance isn't that great either

2 hours ago, gim said:

 

Minnesota just started this as of July 1.  Mandated for anyone under the age of 40 by a certain date.  It's being phased in over time.

 

My understanding is that it takes about 4 hours and costs about 60 bucks.  While I'm skeptical that it will alleviate any of the issues discussed here, it's better than nothing.  What we need is an increase of enforcement on the water.

 

I'm about to start a club that is in full opposition to these rowers.  #imminentcollision

TN has always had one for people born after 1989, but Alabama now requires one for anyone of any age 

 

side note: 

 

I often “stand on” my vessel while catching tiny rock bass………..

 

seems like they could have come up with a better word or phrase 

6 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I had to recently take a course in order to legally boat in Alabama. I passed, yet still don’t know what in the Sam Hill it means to be a “stand on” vessel.

Did you take the Alabama exam or the Tennessee exam?  

VA requires a boater safety course, started in 2011 for all registered vessels.

Buddy of mine was fined severely and escorted off the water.

It took the wife and I 5 hours to complete and we get checked often on the big lakes.

Jet skiers should have to take it monthly 😁.

47 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Did you take the Alabama exam or the Tennessee exam?  

TN, was like $30 less for once 😂 

11 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

TN, was like $30 less for once 😂 

I took the Alabama Boating Basics Course in 1995 when I lived there.  It wasn't required but I took it to get a lower insurance rate.  I'm not sure if it satisfies the requirement.  I also took the Kentucky exam which I'm sure would count if I still lived in Kentucky.  I'm not sure they will accept it now.  I've been thinking about taking the Tennessee exam just to be sure. A little safety education never hurt anybody.