I Am Not Going Boating This Weekend.

Riva sadness

It’s the big weekend July 4th, and sadly even though I own 5 boats, and 8 docks, the idea of being out on the water with all the crazy’s is not a good idea. Boating is a calming escape from the crazyness of humanity. And lately it’s gotten a tad crazy out there on the weekends. JET SKI’s Little kids, and new boaters Jet Ski’s. All new to boating, and complete nut jobs going 60 mph in small areas. Mix that in with new boaters, and no way in hell do I want to expose myself or my family to it. And I live in an area that is not crazy. It’s a very quiet town, and older working boaters are great, and the texture that makes this home.

DOUCHE!

Am I alone in this? Am I just getting cranky and old? Has it always been this way? Is it just our little area is experience growing pains? And I am just noticing it now? One positive thing, is Sweet Pea is large enough that I do feel safe on her chugging along. Until the little ships find our wake and jump it. BTW, that is considered Reckless Driving according to the Marine Police.

I am gonna make some signs?

If you are an instagramer, follow Qualified Captain, its a never ending ship show of dumb boaters. Boat ramp failures and idiots letting their kids sit on the bows of their boats.

27 replies
  1. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    NO!

    I will not be subscribing (aka following) that page.

    I like to see things like this.

  2. Rabbit
    Rabbit says:

    The Qualified Captain is pure gold. And in the winter, because I’m a skier, there’s Jerry of the Day.

  3. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    I know at 3:57 this is well beyond the attention span of most WB readers, but it is simply amazing what you can find on the internet.

  4. m-fine
    m-fine says:

    That’s not a problem for us. One of the benefits of Keuka lake is limited ramp access and trailer parking. The lake will be a little more crowded this weekend, but nothing unmanageable or unsafe, and the sheriff’s boats will be out collecting revenue from the jet skis.

  5. Troy in ANE
    Troy in ANE says:

    The real trouble with Jet Ski’s, Wave Runners, SeaDoo’s (whatever you want to call them) is that they have not rudder. They rely on the water jet to not only propel the vessel, but to steer it. When one gets in trouble one’s reflexes take over and the natural reflex is to LET OFF the gas. Now you have lost steerage. NOT GOOD!

    And Matt just for the record DOUCHE is an old term. The new term is DOUCHE NOZZEL.

    Get with the times man!

  6. Mark
    Mark says:

    You forgot RC boats. Some dumb @$$ was buzzing one around the launch last time I was there.

    I will go boating on the 6th on vacation after the idiots are gone.

  7. John F Rothert
    John F Rothert says:

    well while a bit of a rank…the above concerns are REAL. On our creek the idiots this weekend will wake rock the whole marina constantly. towing kids on tubes is scary as all hell…not just the doing of it but the seeing of it. Lets all hope for a relatively safe 4th…I am Going Boating…but with extreme caution. Due to be hot as the hinges of hell too.

    John in va.

  8. Mark in Ohio (sometimes da U P)
    Mark in Ohio (sometimes da U P) says:

    Thats why I boat in Michigans Beautiful Upper Peninsula. There is somthing about that Bridge aka the Mackinac. That keeps a lot of idiots south. The 56 degree water temperature helps also. There will be a few more out but not too many. Im Going Boating!

  9. Kelly Wittenauer
    Kelly Wittenauer says:

    We’ve been so busy with job deals, ageing parent problems, grandparenthood & race cars, that we haven’t put a boat in yet. And if we do this weekend, it won’t be until Monday evening when the part-timers are on the road home! Too many out there with the money to buy toys, that are far beyond their brain capacity to operate safely!

  10. Terry
    Terry says:

    It just seems people just don’t care anymore except for themselves. A bunch of egotistical, inconsiderate assholes and its only getting worse. No one seems to be accountable for anything. We’re in Florida where we have manatees, dolphin and sea turtles around us all the time and the ones that rent the boats and pwcs are hurting everything. Ok, I’m stepping down from my soap box now. Carry on!!

    • Syd
      Syd says:

      How bad is the 4th of July fireworks, well let’s put it this way. At one of my USCG Stations we would go out patrolling then about 15 minutes before they were scheduled to end we would call all our patrol boats on the radio and tell them to go find a safe place to be then give it about 15 minutes after they end go back out and see if anyone needed help

  11. Charlie Berry
    Charlie Berry says:

    Gave up boating several years ago due to ageing bones and the need for constant vigilance 0n Lake St. Clair and the Detroit and St. Clair river system. Ever go to Jobbie Nooner? Every small boat owner from miles around gathered in the river to swim, drink, strip naked, and generally act like a fool. Only have to see this once to understand that there are likely more of them than there are of us. One died this year trying to boat in a 14′ aluminum boat at 11:40 PM returning to shore when a storm blew in and swamped their boat.

  12. Dick Dow
    Dick Dow says:

    “Checkbook Boaters” is what I call them – they buy a boat, load up and out they go without a care or a clue. Here in the PNW we have had record heat this week – it was 110 degrees at our house yesterday – and the waterways have been stuffed with boats going every which way, towing inflatables, surfing, (don’t get me started on the damage wakeboard boats create) floating without a care in navigation channels and generally, selfishly doing whatever pleases them. Then, after sunset, half of them turn on their docking lights as if they are headlights on the car, thinking they can see better while blinding any oncoming skipper. And then there are the tower speakers…

    I’m not going out either.

  13. Ken MacStephen
    Ken MacStephen says:

    A few years ago some friends and I took a trip to New York in 32 foot mahogany commuter launch. We stayed in North Tarrytown and planned go to statue of Liberty firewoks untill the marina operator said if you value your boat… stay away! We took his advice.
    We left from Kingston Ontario…

  14. Don Palmer
    Don Palmer says:

    I have lived on the lake for over thirty years and watched boating safety decrease and wakes increase. The jet skis that can go from 0 to 60 in no time have no idea how difficult they are to keep in sight. You have to be really careful. And yes, they like to jump our wake. I always just shut down until they get the message.
    Wakeboats now send waves over our dock regularly. It is truly crazy out there on a weekend!

  15. Texx
    Texx says:

    Many years ago a seasoned old salesman said to me “I don’t drink and drive on the weekend – that’s when all the inexperienced drunks are on the road”.

  16. floyd r turbo
    floyd r turbo says:

    I don’t get it, there’s all this concern about shore erosion and yet wakeboats are allowed. Its like all this concern about Climate Change and gov’t officials all meeting by flying in their jets (I won’t name names to keep this non political). But there’s “Can’t fix stupid” everywhere like the woman who stepped into the path of the Tour de France cycling peleton with her “Hi Grandparents” sign and crashed about 100 bikes and knocked out many cyclists who have been training for months, some for years to make this event. All to be knocked out by “stupid”. She has fled the country and they are persuing her to file charges. They need to set an example but they’ll always be another to take her place.

  17. John
    John says:

    I also sit out the July 4th weekend. My boat is a 16ft Lyman, small and not especially fast. It’s too easy for me to imagine being t-boned by a jet ski or run down by some drunken yahoo in a cigarette boat. No thanks. There’s plenty of other weekends.

  18. Bill & Linda
    Bill & Linda says:

    Well, we can see from the header that only vintage Johnson Outboard guys are irresponsible drivers.

    Vintage Merc Outboards forever.

  19. thomas d
    thomas d says:

    i hate those pecker knats. when they come close i throttle down and make no wake for the idiots.

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