Let down by a Yamaha Owner

[HangOutdoors]

Today I was on Orchard Lake here in Oakland county, MI. Having a great time. Pulled into a calm area on one side of the lake probably 200 ft off shore to let the 3 kids swim. They were visible behind the boat. A Yamaha 190 came cruising up and I was telling the admiral to look at the colors on it. He came in at about 20 mph to within 30 ft of the kids swimming. Man I was pissed. At first I thought it was cool to see a new 190 up close, but then I got angry. I stood up on the back of the platform and yelled "Bro you are too close" with my hands in the air. It was a guy, a woman and a small child. He kept coming, i grabbed one of my light heavy hammers for driving in stakes on the beach and was ready to throw it at his boat when slighted veered off and just looked at me, slow downed like was going to turn around and say something, but then took off. Kids were frantically swimming with their vests on to get to the swim platform once I yelled at them to get back to the boat. They weren't that far away.

What gives with with some people.......... I am still agitated about it.

I am hoping that he is a member here........ PM me if you are.

 

[Robconn]

I’ve had cruisers sped by and wave at me while I pitch and roll. I learned pretty quick not everyone is as safety minded. The other day while leaving marina, a wave runner was revving and jumping in the water in the no wake zone. I motioned to the operator to slow down, it was a 11ish year old who looked confused as to why he needed to slow down. He waved at me thinking I was simply waving at him. While anchored and children in the water, you may want a megaphone with a siren. I have a simple air horn placed in a cup holder on the dash so when boats off I can still signal when needed.

 

[rrmidden]

There’s a real simple explanation to this. People, in general, and by and large, are in fact assholes.

I’ve lost count of times we’ve had close hauls, but I have almost 30 years with of stories like that.

 

[ZGhost]

Take a video next time, then call the DNR, they will find him and ticket him because you have evidence. Or they will wait and watch him then ticket him.

 

[gthh]

I share your concern and anger, some boaters are just mindless. Just a tip, When my kids and adults are out swimming I have the Super Maple out and orange flags flying. Sometimes it is hard to see these little bobbing heads in the water at a distance. It is hard to miss seeing that big orange toy in the water

 

[Robconn]

Today I was on Orchard Lake here in Oakland county, MI. Having a great time. Pulled into a calm area on one side of the lake probably 200 ft off shore to let the 3 kids swim. They were visible behind the boat. A Yamaha 190 came cruising up and I was telling the admiral to look at the colors on it. He came in at about 20 mph to within 30 ft of the kids swimming. Man I was pissed. At first I thought it was cool to see a new 190 up close, but then I got angry. I stood up on the back of the platform and yelled "Bro you are too close" with my hands in the air. It was a guy, a woman and a small child. He kept coming, i grabbed one of my light heavy hammers for driving in stakes on the beach and was ready to throw it at his boat when slighted veered off and just looked at me, slow downed like was going to turn around and say something, but then took off. Kids were frantically swimming with their vests on to get to the swim platform once I yelled at them to get back to the boat. They weren't that far away.

What gives with with some people.......... I am still agitated about it.

I am hoping that he is a member here........ PM me if you are.

 

[F.M.]

It's something that runs rampant everywhere. It happens to us almost every time we go out. We can be on a section of river that's 300-400 yards wide and people drive within 50ft of anchored boats. The worst is when a bass boat passes in between you and the shore when you're anchored/floating less than 50ft off of it.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I am simmered down now over it. I plan on putting my air horn easily accessible and somewhere in the basement I have a megaphone which I will grab. I will also be deploying either the Super Mable HD (Man that thing is a pain to lug around and blow up but the kids must have it.) Or will grab another smaller tube, in a high visibility color and deploy that as well. Will fly my Orange flag, although not required here in MI, hopefully the clowns on the water will know what it means.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I get that there are bunch of fools on the water, as long as I can return with as many people that I took in a safe manner than I will be able to manage.

 

[Ronnie]

Another possible explanation is the guy is just a new boater and doesn’t know any better. Sales of boats and RVs have increased dramatically this season and many say it’s because of Covid 19.

I like the megaphone and portable air horn idea but since I have neither, if I found myself in the same situation I would start the engine or engines in my boat and quickly reposition it between my swimmers and the on coming boat.

side note, I was on the water yesterday and it was busy. At one point I could see the bobbing head of a wakeboarder, his ride was on the way back to him but would not reach him before other traffic did. He intentionally held his board in a vertical position to let oncoming traffic know he was there. It worked, traffic coming from both directions gave him a lot more leeway after that.

 

[F.M.]

Another possible explanation is the guy is just a new boater and doesn’t know any better. Sales of boats and RVs have increased dramatically this season and many say it’s because of Covid 19.

I like the megaphone and portable air horn idea but since I have neither, if I found myself in the same situation I would start the engine or engines in my boat and quickly reposing it between my swimmers and the on coming boat.

side note, I was on the water yesterday and it was busy. At one point I could see the bobbing head of a wakeboarder, his ride was on the way back to him butwould not reach him before other traffic did. He intentionally held his board in a vertical position to let oncoming traffic know he was there. It worked, traffic coming from both directions gave him a lot more leeway after that.

That's something I tell my passengers to do. Hands up if you fall off the tube. Board up if you fall off a board. And I don't care if it's hard to put the board back on in the water or not.

 

[Ronnie]

..as long as I can return with as many people that I took in a safe manner than I will be able to manage.

this my primary goal every time I get on the water and restated it to my guests (5 of my Son’s friends yesterday. “Eight of us are going out, my most important job as the boat owner and captain is make sure, to the extent possible, that all eight of us come back alive and in one piece.”

 

[Ronnie]

Thanks @F.M. , I will be giving my tube riders the hands up instruction from now on. Such a simple thing to do that could prevent a tragedy, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it or using the board as a signaling device before.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@Ronnie Perhaps he was a new boater, his boat looked awful new and clean. I made everyone take the boater safety course in the house and my daughter and her friends who are outside of the house and 25 yrs old before they could go out with me, the usual crew that would be out. They bitched a bit but were happy when they finished and passed the exam. Just so they can be safe and understand. It was about a 6 hour course online. Younger people after July 1st 1996 in my state are Required to take it if they are going to drive. I just had everyone do it and most will never drive a boat. It is nice when the 12 year old points out things that people are doing that are wrong.

Should make it mandatory for anyone who drives a boat. They used to do it here in High School for every kid but quit doing it right around 1996-1997 or so.

I can get past a lot of poor behavior, since it runs rampant everywhere everyday. But you injure or kill someone on the water by being stupid, not aware, misinformed or negligent, there is no coming back from that.

@F.M. I have been having them put up their Arms when off the tube. They also put up the Zup board which is green and yellow and hard to miss. I will start making them put up the wakeboard from now on. Since all they do is fall on it over and over again, no one can stand up as of yet.

 

[ripler]

Boy you guys would really be PO'd if you boated on a river, you have to be very aware of everything. Yesterday was busy on the river and there were actually idiots swimming in the middle of the river and they were nearly impossible to see. I hardly ever see anyone put their hand up after falling. On top of that you have to dodge debris. And then you have the drunkin idiots to deal with.

 

[Bssmith1220]

Boy you guys would really be PO'd if you boated on a river, you have to be very aware of everything. Yesterday was busy on the river and there were actually idiots swimming in the middle of the river and they were nearly impossible to see. I hardly ever see anyone put their hand up after falling. On top of that you have to dodge debris. And then you have the drunkin idiots to deal with.

Agreed. We were on the river yesterday and I am a new boater. Between the current, debris, and other boaters it was pretty stressful. Some fool on a jet ski was literally doing donuts right at the boat launch.

 

[HangOutdoors]

What is it like in the Oceans and Large Bay's? A lot more water. Does the stupid thin out a bit? Here in Lake St. Clair it does not. I will be near and in Lake Michigan in two weeks to see what it is like there.

 

[ripler]

@HangOutdoors Now that the boaters course is online it's a joke. In PA you must have a boater safety course to operate a jetski and the minimum age to operate a jetski is 12 years old, how many 12 year olds would pass that test if mommy or daddy weren't helping them. At 12 you are allowed to operate a watercraft that can do 65MPH, what could go wrong?

 

[F.M.]

Boy you guys would really be PO'd if you boated on a river, you have to be very aware of everything. Yesterday was busy on the river and there were actually idiots swimming in the middle of the river and they were nearly impossible to see. I hardly ever see anyone put their hand up after falling. On top of that you have to dodge debris. And then you have the drunkin idiots to deal with.

I boat on a river 90% of the time. Dodging logs, trot lines, large barges, etc.... We have to constantly be aware of our surroundings to keep everyone safe. It's just disappointing that some boaters are not considerate to others at all.

 

[captainhook]

I see stupidity that amazes me on almost every single outing. Driving too closely, fishing right next to the supports on a bridge where no one can see you, running parallel to a bridge at 30mph, jumping wakes behind boats pulling a tube or wakeboarder, not paying any attention to where they’re going, nearly reversing into you while waiting to go back to the launch... Every time I think I’ve seen it all, another idiot proves me wrong.

Interesting the above posters mentions the river. I grew up on a lake and learned to keep my head on a swivel as a teenager riding personal watercraft (if you think idiots don’t give you the right of way when you’re on a boat, try riding a ski...). The thing about a lake is people are basically going every whichway, in a river at least most people are heading one direction or the other. My wife hates boating in the lake because of this and gets nervous.

 

[HangOutdoors]

@ripler Here you must be 14 yrs old to operate a Jetski with parent or guardian on board or within 100 ft. one. 16yrs to operate by yourself. Although some of the drivers on the lake seem awful young and small.

Boat operator-age restrictions - who may operate a boat?

Michigan conservation officers and county sheriffs encourage everyone operating boats to enroll in a boating safety course.

www.michigan.gov

Our 12 year old took the course by herself with no help and one of us was always watching. She missed some of the practice tests and had to do them over again and got frustrated, but she went through it and did her own exam and passed. It took her almost three weeks. Our purpose was so she could understand safety, markers and buoys and right now I am teaching her how to safely operate the boat, at very slow speeds. She always like telling me which side of the boat we are approaching is the correct side to pass on. Who is the Stand on Boat. Every time she see a channel buoy she tells me what it means. She likes saying "Red Right Return". Hopefully these things will stay with her forever.

The course may bay a bit soft, but if by going through it, someday it saves one life, or possibly makes it a bit safer and someone a better boater, than I am all for it.

I do defiantly agree with you, I am sure that a lot of the parents just help them go through it and take it for them so they can go off and drive.