Discipline is not always kind… I bet they never tried that again
Retribution can be quite savage from the offender who doesn’t believe (or maybe care) they’re doing anything wrong. You put your life on the line actively dealing with these unpredictable scenarios.
For me it depends somewhat on the motivation. Is the goal is to get into the shallows, where the boat can’t safely go, for protection against harm? Or is there malicious intent to cause injury and damage? There’s considerable overlap between the two in this situation and the story told afterwards makes all the difference.
@Sparky961 said:
Retribution can be quite savage from the offender who doesn’t believe (or maybe care) they’re doing anything wrong. You put your life on the line actively dealing with these unpredictable scenarios.
How does that thought process work?
I’m gonna get even with that guy who showed me what an ass I am and fooled me into sinking my own boat.
Nah. I’m not buyin’ it.
I see nothing wrong with moving to the safer place, even if you know the idiot might endanger himself by continuing the boating version of assault. The karma that follows is entirely on his own sinking self.
I like the guys who are coming at you; then when they’re just about passing you and out of courtesy, they slow down. Not that I give a rip, but slowing down from a plane just makes a bigger wake and those aren’t the waves that are going to hit you anyway. My preference is that they make the biggest wake they can, I’ll deal with it.
@Steve_in_Idaho said:
@Sparky961 said:
Retribution can be quite savage from the offender who doesn’t believe (or maybe care) they’re doing anything wrong. You put your life on the line actively dealing with these unpredictable scenarios.How does that thought process work?
I’m gonna get even with that guy who showed me what an ass I am and fooled me into sinking my own boat.
Nah. I’m not buyin’ it.
You never know what kind of warped or psychotic person you’re dealing with. Or more simply, their emotional state. You also can’t know what sort of weapons they may carry, their unarmed combat skills, and what will prompt the use thereof. Even if you might be suitably matched, your actions can prevent escalation of violence and risk.
Crossing groups of people is even worse because mob mentality and dangerous ratios come into play.
Making the assumption they process the situation the same way you do is a monumental mistake.
Sparky, I think you’re right–especially these days. My thought and method of dealing with power boaters is to ignore them, or just wave hello if they do likewise.
I am also a bike rider and I have a concealed carry permit. A few years ago, I vowed never to carry while riding my bike, because there were too many times that I had reason to pull my weapon. That could almost never have a good outcome. For the same reason, I have never carried a weapon while paddling–so far.
And for the same reason, I never carry one in the car.
@Sparky961 said:
@Steve_in_Idaho said:
@Sparky961 said:
Retribution can be quite savage from the offender who doesn’t believe (or maybe care) they’re doing anything wrong. You put your life on the line actively dealing with these unpredictable scenarios.How does that thought process work?
I’m gonna get even with that guy who showed me what an ass I am and fooled me into sinking my own boat.
Nah. I’m not buyin’ it.
You never know what kind of warped or psychotic person you’re dealing with. Or more simply, their emotional state. You also can’t know what sort of weapons they may carry, their unarmed combat skills, and what will prompt the use thereof. Even if you might be suitably matched, your actions can prevent escalation of violence and risk.
Crossing groups of people is even worse because mob mentality and dangerous ratios come into play.
Making the assumption they process the situation the same way you do is a monumental mistake.
All I see here is more reason to not ignore the powerboater who is making deliberate efforts to swamp a canoe. Pretty sure being proactive and moving to a place that is safer for the canoe and maybe not for the powerboat is a prudent thing to do. Kind of like the avoidance of larger vessels discussed earlier in this thread.
I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that that operator of a sinking boat is going to be a little too busy to do anything related to revenge. Whatever might come when and if the two meet on at a later date is academic, given that crazies exist anyway, and you are either prepared to deal with them or not.
A given person’s personal problems with such issues, notwithstanding…
The Bob needs no help from me, but I find your response ranging from presumptuous to paranoid. Given a similar situation, I’d feel pretty stupid just sitting there out in the open while a powerboater made repeated attempts to swamp or otherwise endanger me. Frankly, I don’t care what such a twisted mind might dream up in the future, I would be dealing with that immediately - and if that meant the simplest solution was to move to where only an idiot would take the powerboat, that, is far better than either pretending he’s no danger, hoping he’ll go away, or shooting him. You’re free to second guess, of course, because this is the internet.
And yeah…I’d be amused if said idiot’s boat sank under him too. Never miss a chance to see the humor in things.
Of course you ;have to deal with any situation as it evolves, but I still believe that not giving the aggressor the satisfaction of showing that you are bothered by his antics would be first on my list.
I would also offer that retreating to shallow water might not be the best option, because waves tend to steepen and become more of a problem in shallow water. When I see big waves, the last place I want to be is near shore. However, if you are under attack by a homicidal drunk, that may be intent on causing serious harm…
See, that’s the thing. You don’t know what such a guy is intending, and you don’t know his state of mind. You also don’t know whether he actually has the skill to haze you without actually causing a collision. Far more likely than some later revenge, is that this “pilot” is going to have a collision with something - maybe you. It’s one thing to avoid a collision nearly brought on by inattention, but quite another thing avoiding one that is the result of such malicious behavior.
I’ll take the shallow water waves over hanging out where I am the target of an out of control fool any day. One or two passes in fun ain’t worth getting excited about. Yeah, most of them lose interest when it’s obvious you aren’t scared. Repeated advances, to the degree that one could be followed into the shallows, and I believe it’s time to be pro-active. Every time that heavy projectile is flung your way in the hands of a drunk or an idiot is another chance to end up looking like a Florida manatee or worse. Sparky can worry about what might happen in the future all he wants, I will deal with the here and now. And shore waves? That’s just another part of boating. They are predictable. That dude in the powerboat…not so much.
I for one am glad he put his boat out of commission by willfully following Bob onto the shallow rock ledge. A dangerous fool was taken off the water at least for a time. Indeed it is better to avoid a confrontation, but in this case they were already being confronted with little chance to avoid beside by heading to the shallows. I would have left while avoiding escalating the situation afterward.
Yeah, flipping the bird after the fact is probably not the best move. I would have had a hard time resisting a hearty “have a nice day” though, and that’s essentially the same thing.
Ditto! 
I’ve been meaning to point out, before we got side-tracked 
that no mention has been made in this thread about how to tell if you are on a collision course. I know most of us here probably already know this, but some may not.
It’s pretty simple. If the approaching boat appears to be holding position at the same angle from your craft but is getting bigger (closer) as you hold your steady course, a collision is likely. Time to change your heading or your speed. Example…You’re cruising along at your steady pace of 4mph while keeping the bow aligned with some distant object (we all do this - right?). You see a motorboat in the distance with the bow up and pointed at you over the top of your left hand at every paddle stroke. A minute later, you notice that boat is getting closer, and still lined up over your left hand. It would be wise at that time to stop paddling or turn toward the motorboat. When you see that the boat’s position is now changing its angle from your boat (should be crossing from left to right now), the collision has been avoided (for the moment…assuming he stays his course 
).
Never did I state or infer you should remain passively in harm’s way.
You have completely missed my point but I’ve lost interest in making it.
No, I saw your point. It was very pointed. You implied and I inferred that luring that powerboat into the shallows was a malicious act, based on the story that followed. I’m not buying that either. It could just as easily be viewed as a public service.
I have a friend that put his shrimp boat at anchor. He posted the correct lights. Left deck lights on and went to sleep. Some time in the night another shrimp boat with helmsman asleep at the wheel ran into them. My friend’s boat sank. Naw they won’t see you.
Concentrate on what you can do to prevent a collision. Stay out of the way. Be alert to what the power boats are doing. Post an anchor watch. Ok paddle craft don’t anchor much like shrimp boats. But you can keep a watch and be aware of others moves.
Don’t go where the power boats have to go. Don’t go when the traffic will be the greatest.
What if the attackers intention is to drive you into shallow water where his menacing wake will be most effective? My point is that you should not take action that might worsen your situation. In my multi decades of boating, I have never encountered a situation that required any proactive response to any other boater. Well there were a few times when I had to take some evasive moves, but not due to intentional attacks by boaters. Ya gotta watch them Stellars, though.
Well, we can build a box there is no way out of, when thinking “what ifs”. That much is clear. But I think The Bob’s case where the boater took the time and made the effort to follow into the shallows demonstrates that such a situation can exist. I don’t have many decades of experience, but even the deep waves from wakeboard boats don’t bother me as a paddler, even in the shallows. Getting close to hundreds of pounds of hurtling fiberglass, aluminum, and steel in the “control” of an idiot does.
My own experiences include a couple of times the boater abandoned the game pretty quick when I moved toward the "danger zone’. I can’t prove it was out of boredom or self preservation though.
Changing gears a little…
A couple summers ago, we were sailing across the lake when we observed a couple of lake-lice going in tight circles to jump each others’ wakes. Their general group direction was roughly a collision course with us, so we adjusted to pass behind them and were rewarded with the sight of them colliding with each other as we passed. I have to admit…I laughed. And as we watched them make a beeline for shore with blood running down one operator’s arm, I commented…“Good. Maybe a lesson he won’t forget”.
I doubt either of them had a clue there were any other boats, canoe, sailboat, or otherwise, in the vicinity.