New proposal for Public Space Protection Order

On the face of it this could be a welcome move, but we should always be cautious of anything which restricts our public freedom.. Although aimed at restricting PWCs there may be something which could be directed to restrict other waterway users. Perhaps a lawyer who is a disgruntled PWC owner may want to hit back at sailors or kayakers etc?
I'm reminded of Martin Niemoller's "First they came for the communists"
 
what is stopping the PWC interpretation being applied to your tender & If you replace the PWC with “tender” are you still happy with what it proposes?
 
On the face of it this could be a welcome move, but we should always be cautious of anything which restricts our public freedom.. Although aimed at restricting PWCs there may be something which could be directed to restrict other waterway users. Perhaps a lawyer who is a disgruntled PWC owner may want to hit back at sailors or kayakers etc?
I'm reminded of Martin Niemoller's "First they came for the communists"
Like most such "regulation" they don't seem to have given much thought for how it will be enforced. In many cases if they put the effort into education/guidance/visible presence they'd achieve much the same without troubling the council's legal team! It is a thin end of the wedge - do you want to show your insurance on demand to any official to use your dinghy tender? Do you want to stop people using foiling dinghies / windsurfs? Do you know want kayaks to only be able to launch at official slipways and prove their competency? What if the kayak has a small electric motor? They mostly use the word operate but then use the word ride for bathing zones - are those different things? There's no explicit exemption given for emergencies, not for use of PWC by emergency services (not sure if the RNLI use them, or might want to use them, on any beaches in the ares?)
 
what is stopping the PWC interpretation being applied to your tender & If you replace the PWC with “tender” are you still happy with what it proposes?
Yes, I was going to say is there any formal legal definition of Personal Water Craft (PWC)? If not the whole thing is unenforceable?

The recent MCA rule changes which were labelled in their PR as “dangerous watercraft” didn’t actually define anything to do with the jet ski type PWC, but if I recall correctly covered every vessel of any size with mechanical power, no matter how slow, including a kayak with electric assistance.
 
Yes, I was going to say is there any formal legal definition of Personal Water Craft (PWC)? If not the whole thing is unenforceable?

The recent MCA rule changes which were labelled in their PR as “dangerous watercraft” didn’t actually define anything to do with the jet ski type PWC, but if I recall correctly covered every vessel of any size with mechanical power, no matter how slow, including a kayak with electric assistance.
There's a definition in the RCD/Recreational Craft Regulations, but generally law shouldn't assume a definition in some unrelated legislation applies to this - unless the writers of the Order specifically create the link, it says:

“personal watercraft” means a watercraft intended for sports and leisure purposes of less than 4 metres in hull length which uses a propulsion engine having a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on, rather than within the confines of, a hull;

That's possibly what they mean but do they really want a loop hole for real propellors rather than jets? there's lots of e-surf board things which could be messy around swimmers, or for a small "williams tender" which you sit in rather than on to be excluded from the restrictions?

So if there is no formal definition then the courts will have to make up their own mind, usually assisted by the standard dictionary definitions of the words.
 
Existing speed limits and 250m beach safety zones are for all boats, power and sail, with exception for sailing boats when racing.
 
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