Ronnie
Jetboaters Fleet Admiral
- Messages
- 8,561
- Reaction score
- 11,456
- Points
- 647
- Location
- SF Bay Area
- Boat Make
- Yamaha
- Year
- 2010
- Boat Model
- Limited S
- Boat Length
- 24
I didn’t heed the warnings of my neighbors who have lived here near or on the water for many years and I cruised by the local party spot, Skiers Beach, on July 4th. The pics don’t do it justice but around 30 boats lined the small beach and there were 3 to 4 rows of 40 boat rafts behind them. Lots of boats anchored nearby as well. In between the rafts of boats and anchored boats were all kinds of PWCs many of them being driven by complete rookies, some of them showing off for the girls they had onboard, some trying to take video with one hand while controlling the throttle with the other, most didn’t understand what “no wake means”.
My first boat was a Kawasaki (genuine) Jetski. I never rode like that and neither did my friends.
My son has been riding solo since he was 12 and is safer than most of the adults I saw riding on July 4th.
To me the problem is greater access, a lot of people can afford to buy or finance a pwc and manufactures/dealers/sellers don’t distinguish between experienced or inexperienced buyers. Kind of like the proliferation of drones a few years ago. People, myself included, had been flying radio controlled helicopters for decades before the first widely recognized “drone/quad copter” the DJI Phantom with a camera hit the market. Prior to that rc pilots belonged to clubs, carried insurance and generally followed all the safety protocols, I almost never heard about a complaint, injury, etc. once DJI drones hit the market at an affordable $750 or so cost, almost anyone could buy one, many did and discarded the safety practices of the past. Now the industry is heavily regulated and makes the news for all the wrong reasons.
As for pwcs, here in CA they are phasing in a boater’s card requirement for all boaters based on age. I made my son get his when he turned 16, he is almost 21 now and we have been out on the skis and boat many, many times since, not once was he ever been asked to show is boaters card. A law or regulation that isn’t enforced is useless.
the original story begs the question, “Why is anyone but a LEO bringing a gun to a recreational day on the water? Does Florida or any state have a pirate problem at their inlets?
My first boat was a Kawasaki (genuine) Jetski. I never rode like that and neither did my friends.
My son has been riding solo since he was 12 and is safer than most of the adults I saw riding on July 4th.
To me the problem is greater access, a lot of people can afford to buy or finance a pwc and manufactures/dealers/sellers don’t distinguish between experienced or inexperienced buyers. Kind of like the proliferation of drones a few years ago. People, myself included, had been flying radio controlled helicopters for decades before the first widely recognized “drone/quad copter” the DJI Phantom with a camera hit the market. Prior to that rc pilots belonged to clubs, carried insurance and generally followed all the safety protocols, I almost never heard about a complaint, injury, etc. once DJI drones hit the market at an affordable $750 or so cost, almost anyone could buy one, many did and discarded the safety practices of the past. Now the industry is heavily regulated and makes the news for all the wrong reasons.
As for pwcs, here in CA they are phasing in a boater’s card requirement for all boaters based on age. I made my son get his when he turned 16, he is almost 21 now and we have been out on the skis and boat many, many times since, not once was he ever been asked to show is boaters card. A law or regulation that isn’t enforced is useless.
the original story begs the question, “Why is anyone but a LEO bringing a gun to a recreational day on the water? Does Florida or any state have a pirate problem at their inlets?
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