Don't be a Meatball!

“What’s a No Wake Zone?” ~Typical PWC operator in my area

Sigh.

One of my biggest pet peeves about the recreational boating industry…the lack of educational requirements for a person to just buy a boat, launch it, and take off onto the big blue, blissfully unaware of how to read channel markers, how to interpret navigation charts, what a wake is…much less what constitutes Minimum Wake or Idle Speed.  It is very unfortunate not only for the novice boater that gets pulled over and fined for violating one of the many boating laws on the books, but also for the knowledgeable, savvy boater that is forever cursing out the newbies throwing huge wakes where there are divers down or chartered fishing vessels trying to make a living and a good experience for their paying customers.

This debacle seems to apply exponentially to personal watercraft.  I can only assume it is mostly because they are water toys, built for speed and maneuverability.  The average person riding one does not own any other kind of boat, and therefore has nothing to gauge their (bad) behavior against. Other than the flats fisherman angrily pumping his fist in the air as you blow by his bonefish charter at 65 mph.  Or the family boat peacefully anchored away from the channel, with kids in the water, screaming expletives at you as you think it would be fun to “show off” by speeding by their floating camp and making a rooster tail spin-out mere feet away from where they are now frantically scrambling to secure loose items that will probably spill over when your wake finally reaches their bow.  But most of it is because PWC operators are not required to hold any kind of license or specialized boater training prior to putting one in the water.  And THAT is a huge problem!  As a responsible PWC operator, it grates my nerves to see this constant terrible behavior on the water by jet skiers…my buddy Slack refers to this crowd as The Meatballs.  And they are (in my opinion) responsible for the biased, unequitable set of restrictions placed specifically on PWC in several of our National Parks and other public waterways.   

The good news is, this is starting to change.  Many states have new regulations requiring boat operators born after a certain date to obtain boating certification and/or licensing.  This requirement varies by State…the following is an excellent resource to see what your state requires: http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/states/ed_requirements_map.asp

This is a step in the right direction…however it does little to combat the current problem: tens of thousands of existing boat operators that have no training whatsoever are grandfathered in to the current laws of non-required education, and are at large on an ocean or lake near you! 

It is wintertime in most parts of the US right now, and maybe boating and running your PWC is not exactly on the forefront of your mind, but this would be an excellent opportunity to take advantage of the down time to get yourself signed up for a boater safety course.  They are usually free, and many of them can be done online.  BoatUS offers one http://www.boatus.org/onlinecourse/default.asp as does Power Squadrons http://www.usps.org/ and there are others.  So come spring, all you have to think about is dewinterizing and getting back out on the water…hopefully with a fresh perspective on responsible boating, and the impacts your boating behaviors have on others.

I cannot advocate enough how important boater safety is…there are many things you will learn that you would have never even thought to consider as a casual weekend warrior.  And you will also be better prepared in the event of an emergency.  Mother Nature can turn on a dime, and sometimes you will only have your knowledge to rely on.  Plus you might notice other boaters cruising through the No Wake zones waving at you, instead of cursing you out.  So PLEASE take a class, and encourage other PWC owners you know to do the same.  And remember…don’t be a Meatball!