Boating Common Courtesies

[Newsman]

After going out on the water the other day, i realized a few common courtesies that all people should stick too. These are points we all should follow to increase the enjoyment and safety for everyone out on the water.1) Jet Ski Riders - Stay away! Why does every jet skier have to zoom past [...] After going out on the water the other day, i realized a few common courtesies that all people should stick too. These are points we all should follow to increase the enjoyment and safety for everyone out on the water. 1) Jet Ski Riders - Stay away! Why does every jet skier have to zoom past within 5M of every moored boat. The ocean is a huge place and these riders should keep their distance.* 2) When returning to dock, can’t everyone do the same speed (as posted) instead of overtaking trying to get up their place in the queue. The speeds are posted for a reason so lets all try and stick to them. 3) If someone is anchored up and fishing try to leave at least a 50M space between you and them. Nothing worse than when you are fishing to have some clown come right up and scare off the fish and stir the water up almost causing you to fall in. Keep your distance people. 4) When people are snorkelling or diving. Once again - Keep your distance. 5) When launching/retrieving your boat make sure to do it quickly. The ramp is not the time to be doing up ropes and placing the esky and food on board. This should be done prior to getting to the ramps so you don’t waste everyones time. As you could tell, these are some of my pet peeves, but if we all follow a few simple rules the water will become more enjoyable for all.* James More...

[WVHillbilly]

There are simple rules and regulations for operating a boat. The Coast Guard issues a little pamphlet that covers most of them and it seems like every boat store has free copies. Why the hell do so many people operating boats on the water seem to be oblivious of these rules? It astounds me almost every time I go out how ignorant people are. I don't have a whole lot of motor boat operating experience, but I've read the rules and follow them when I'm traveling the passes and the ICW. Am I being too rigid? Should it be a free for all out there? Afterall we have to follow traffic rules on the highway, maybe we should just f*&^ the rules on the water and go wherever we want however and as fast as we want.