Canals? Assuming this is in Florida. A boy was killed a couple of years ago on a swim beach on Hagg Lake near McMinnville, Oregon a couple of years ago. A drunk jet skier drove right up on the beach.
We travel the country and kayak every chance we get. I would say the most polite boaters are in Michigan. But there are jerks everywhere. That’s why I prefer lakes with no motors allowed. More wildlife and lots of quiet.
Stay safe…
well I got his info from my GoPro
now I’ll go to the police tomorrow. Probably a waste of time but I’ll give it a shot. You can see he’s not even looking where he’s going.
Good luck! Hope he gets a fine or something that will help make him see the error of his ways.
Darn it… Lots of bikers wear GoPro, if nothing else than for posthumous evidence of the reckless driver who killed them. Now, looking like you got to wear one in the waterways. Jeeze.
Best wish for bagging that guy.
sing
hey are not go to do anything and be dismissive if its verbal. There is a better chance if you write out a sworn statement and send it certified to the cognizant DA.
Its best to write a sworn (notarized) statement and address it certified to the district attorney who prosecutes these boating infractions. They cannot ignore it, unlike the police, because its a record. They will probably refer it to the appropriate enforcement agency. The enforcement agency can ignore you, but, not so much for district attorneys.
No matter what you will get a response instead of being dismissed. It will probably generate a searchable record too. If the boat has other serious infractions on record, they are more likely to investigate.
If your photo does not make it clear how close the boater was, then I think they will say “no evidence”
This is based on my experience after receiving a bogus ticket from a cop in Copake NY 30 years ago and getting a notice of impending suspension from another state. I wrote a letter of complaint to my states DA. The Copake DA got the justice of the peace to call me and justify the ticket. I didn’t argue as I had already paid. But About a year later I happened to hear on the news that the justice of peace listed on the ticket had fled to another state with the funds. It was montanelli or montagnelli of Copake.
@PaddleDog52, dang dawg! You looked intimately close to that jerk.
@rstevens15, i stsryed a resoponse and didn’t send it, then I saw the go-pro shot. People are sick - that is criminal. Maybe the big difference on the Chesapeake Bay is that boaters are made to feel responsible for their wake. Aside from a few comments from boaters about kayaks being a nuisance, I have never felt threatened by anyone on the water.
The exception is the way fishing holes are protected as sacred. Fish congregate in certain areas at different times of the year, mostly on specific sides of shoals depending on the tidal flow. It seems that everyone believes they have exclusive rights to that spot. Charter Boats often muscle their large boats, bristleing with fishing rods, into favorable positions while crowding other boats out of the competition. Reactions of anglers vary, with some holding their personal catch aloft, boasting the accomplishment. Still others, like my brother, will admonish you for exposing the net to scoop up a catch - he’d rather loose the fish than expose his favorite spot.
Other than that competitive clash, most boaters acknowledge you with a wave, whether between boat to boat or boat and shore. There seems to be a universal sentiment that the waterways belong to everyone, in “the land of plesant living,” where any follower of the water rules supreme. The universal restriction is against violating an unspoken hierarchy of those harvesting from the water. And ne’er daly in a marked channel, or the big boats will run you over, but in truth, it a place most people avoid and cross quickly.
Hope you get justice about that intrusion PaddleDog52.
He’s struggling to get the cap off of his fourth craft beer because he’s forgotten that they don’t have screw caps. Either that or he’s on his cell phone.
Good luck PD52.
This is a serious problem. Be careful where you paddle.
When a power boat comes straight at you on plane, either they don’t see you or the plan to run over you. Neither are good. If you operate a power boat, make sure you don’t threaten paddlers. Fall off your intended heading and do not aim your boat at any one.
Carry an air horn at least.
It is very difficult to get out of the way.
I do not paddle around power boats and jetskis.
When I first started kayaking, i noticed power boats lining up on me, and it freaked me out. I bough a great book about kayak navigation.
The author has a section about accessing the speed and direction of another boat. He suggested changing your heading to put your bow directly on the boat crossing your path; that gives you the best sense of whether it would be better to cross in front of or behind the approaching boat. I have no way of knowing whether other boaters use that technique, but at least it helps ease my mind unless they continue on a collision course. So far so good!
Paddle upwind
Deploy bear spray.
Roll.
only half joking. at least true for the donuts in the channel.
More seriously, I wear an ANSI Class 3 shirt paddling. They are basically the most visible shirt possible, and I have had many boaters comment how easy I am to see. I recommend a ANSI Class 3 shirt for any paddling in busy waters or where idiots are common.
I’m not familiar with this designation - do you have a link to one?
ANSI Class 3 refers to how much retroreflective material is on a garment. Class 3 is the highest I think, with dual horizontal arm bands, a horizontal waist band, and 2 vertical shoulder bands. These are the clothes most road & construction workers are probably required to wear
Or here is one similar to what I wear
Or here are many examples. Just search “ANSI Class 3 Shirt”. They have pants too if you want to look super cool on a SOT.
https://www.google.com/search?&q=ansi+class+3+shirt
Lots of similar garments available on Scamazon, etc.
One note I have noticed - the reflective banding generally has zero stretch, so although the shirt fabric may be stretchy, I recommend sizing up 1 size because the tape has no stretch. I have thick arms, and notice constriction around the bands if the bands are not larger than my arms when fully flexed and in a weird position such as fully extended at the beginning of a wing paddle stroke.
i just have solas on boat and paddle
The only issue I have had paddling is around ferries because they don’t really go out of their way to fall off their course.
The attitude is “everyone knows our route and we have priority”
Coming into Victoria BC, even the lakes in Germany, I feel I must plan my route around the ferry.
In Hawaii, mainlanders would always complain that divers with a buoy had the right of way over outriggers but it’s not the reality. If you surface or swim, you better plan to not be where your skull gets cracked open.
tonnage rules the seas
Actually that’s the law. The ferry has a set course. Boats that are restricted to a channel due to limited manueverability have the right of way. I stay out of everybody’s way. Look.put for number one and you won’t step in number two.
A ferry on a course, unless it is a cable ferry, has no special status. Being on a point to point course is not considered a “channel” unless it is actually in a channel. Conduct in a narrow channel is Rule 9b and applies to any boat. Boats less than 20 meters must stay out of the way of boats that can only navigate within the channel. “Restricted in ability to maneuver” is a defined term applying only to things like dredges, salvage, etc. that are displaying the appropriate day shapes/lights.
There are lots of different kinds of boat traffic. this past summer making my way to the crystal river in Wisconsin, there are a series of small lakes (really ponds by my standards). First it was float toys, then sups, and then at the last lake it was jet skis and motorboats. A yahoo lake for sure. I found the dells interesting with the jet boats and their wakes.
My sketchest moves happened long ago dodging rafts to get ahead to video trips on the gauley in the middle of rapids like Pillow Rock, Insig, and Pure Screaming Hell., not for the faint of heart. I got mowed over a few times on the New but thankfully never on the Gauley where the consequences can be more severe. I now prefer much less crowded streams and stretches of river.
The Ocoee was a great river but just too busy for me so I avoided it after a few initial runs. I did come close to getting run over by a raft on the pigeon (dirty bird) just a few years ago. I thought there is no way a raft would purposefully run the slot I was doing. I was wrong and thankfully the guide yielded to me but I was right under the rocker on the front of his boat when we met up.
I don’t have much use for the NOC. They poached one of my kayak paddles when I was leading down some duckies. They run a lot of doubles and just lack river etiquette. I Fired off a letter to them once and called them on it. They claim to be a leader in the industry- I just found them to be rude. I realize others have had many positive experiences with them.
It is kind of sad when other paddle craft don’t respect each other. In WV they would encourage bad behavior on the roads by paying coal trucks by the load. The faster you drive the more loads you get. Some rafting companies work that way too!
