The 'infection' has spread to here ... Jetski's

[dunkelly]

Weekend before last 10.30 pm settling down after a meal at tha folly 2 jet skis and a rib at 20 knots + belted up to Newport and back , absolutely mad and dangerous ,then on Sunday just leaving Cowes 2 jetskiers drinking beer from cans at 10 in the morning - finished Thier cans just tossed them aside in the river . Absolute yobs ,no other wordfor them !!!

 

[KevinV]

You know I organized a search party....there were dogs and people with pointy sticks looking for you

In fairness - the dogs were asleep and the sticks were white

 

[Sea Change]

If your suggestions of compulsory licensing and insurance were to be enforced the CG and HMs would need to be able to deal with high speed craft to police it! All water users would need to pay for this benefit.



Why just jetski? Why not ski boats, ribs, planing sail boats, etc.

They aren’t risk free but statistically they don’t cause a lot of deaths.

But actually far more deaths on the roads and generally much worse driving than at sea. Who pays for the policing? The already responsible law abiding citizen who ends up taxed in some way.

Just because the resources aren't in place to enforce a rule doesn't mean you shouldn't have the rule. That's just giving up.

I'd be very happy to see users of high speed vessels have to pay some sort of levy if that's what it takes to raise enough money to enforce rules. These craft serve little useful purpose and have a disproportionate adverse effect upon other water users.

Or even better, just ban them. Several Caribbean countries have done so and it's brilliant.

 

[Grith]

We live on a side lake connected to the Murray River in South Australia. The main river close to us on a calm sunny day is fully infested with skiers, jet skies and worst of all wake boats. Riverfront home owners on the main river can no longer leave their craft on their personal mooring jetties without significant equipment upgrades to protect their boats being thrown against their jetties by the wakes of high speed craft. Most have just given up and their jetties sit empty.
We are very fortunate that our quiet side lake is deemed a wildlife/bird protection zone and the whole lake is a 4knot max restricted zone (policed by retired nazis of which I am now one!).
The lake is also protected from wash from the river by a narrow barrier island with two small navigable entrances.
JetSkis are bad but wake boats leave them for dead for extreme wash, noise and nuisance factor!
I await environmental authorities “waking up” to the extreme riverbank damage they create with the whole hull, ballast and deployable wave makers on the more expensive ones all designed to raise the wake/wave height created for tricks.
Ski boats whilst still annoying produce vastly less wake.
Our tranquil side lake which has three islands with fog obscuring the barrier island and entrance to the main river.

 

[Bouba]

In fairness - the dogs were asleep and the sticks were white

We assumed that Seastoke was dead....the search party spent days looking for the body...can’t tell you how disappointed they were

 

[[194497]]

If your suggestions of compulsory licensing and insurance were to be enforced the CG and HMs would need to be able to deal with high speed craft to police it! All water users would need to pay for this benefit.

It would be entirely possible, technically speaking, to compel all craft capable of a certain speed to carry AIS, then set up automatic monitoring so that anyone who broke a local speed limit in a controlled zone got issued a hefty fine, or notice of impending criminal prosecution for dangerous driving.

 

[Bouba]

We live on a side lake connected to the Murray River in South Australia. The main river close to us on a calm sunny day is fully infested with skiers, jet skies and worst of all wake boats. Riverfront home owners on the main river can no longer leave their craft on their personal mooring jetties without significant equipment upgrades to protect their boats being thrown against their jetties by the wakes of high speed craft. Most have just given up and their jetties sit empty.
We are very fortunate that our quiet side lake is deemed a wildlife/bird protection zone and the whole lake is a 4knot max restricted zone (policed by retired nazis of which I am now one!).
The lake is also protected from wash from the river by a narrow barrier island with two small navigable entrances.
JetSkis are bad but wake boats leave them for dead for extreme wash, noise and nuisance factor!
I await environmental authorities “waking up” to the extreme riverbank damage they create with the whole hull, ballast and deployable wave makers on the more expensive ones all designed to raise the wake/wave height created for tricks.
Ski boats whilst still annoying produce vastly less wake. View attachment 196582
Our tranquil side lake which has three islands with fog obscuring the barrier island and entrance to the main river.

Can’t you do what other Australian rivers do...and fill it with crocodiles, jellyfish and taipans

 

[Chiara’s slave]

It would be entirely possible, technically speaking, to compel all craft capable of a certain speed to carry AIS, then set up automatic monitoring so that anyone who broke a local speed limit in a controlled zone got issued a hefty fine, or notice of impending criminal prosecution for dangerous driving.

Well, we are a 20kn vessel. We could carry AIS, though the main reason we don’t is expense. But we were overtaken by a Waszp not long ago, I can’t see how he could install it. I’d love to see jet skis regulated in some way. Our old codger group are fine, but they are the exception. I just can’t see how it can be done without seriously affecting blameless people.

 

[ylop]

It would be entirely possible, technically speaking, to compel all craft capable of a certain speed to carry AIS, then set up automatic monitoring so that anyone who broke a local speed limit in a controlled zone got issued a hefty fine, or notice of impending criminal prosecution for dangerous driving.

I don’t think it’s anywhere near as simple as you think. In a craft that accelerates the way they do, are rarely driven in straight line and a system with GPS error, the ability to reduce transmissions in busy areas, poor range when mounted at waterline…

That’s before you consider how a “bad connection” might disable such a device on those who complied with fitting them or how you would police people who never install or register the devices in the first place. You are inventing laws for people who are mostly compliant whilst ignoring that those who really don’t care won’t do the paperwork.

 

[Refueler]

The thread was started based on incidents here in Latvia ... a state where Licencing of the Jetski's user required ....

Does it make much difference ? Not really.

As another has said - whats the fun in running at moderate speed and without causing waves etc. The Jetski is designed as a fun machine to cavort and cut up water ... that's its function and users want to do it. Problem is most want to 'show off' while doing it - so herding them off to an area where they can do - removes that aspect.

In reality - most locations only solution is total ban. Which really is unfair on those who respect others on and in the water.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Clearly the real solution is to allow the Royal Navy to use them as test targets for new weapons.

 

[doug748]

Bring in restrictions as needed.

Catch a few, scrap the Jetski, Scrap the tow vehicles for repeat offenders. Take the driving licence off repeat, repeat offenders. - The word will get around.



Wring your hands, say it's all very difficult, let things slide. - It will get worse, like behaviour in much of civil society in the UK.


.

 

[Stemar]

We all hate inconsiderate idiots, whether they're on the road or on the water, but I suspect that "they're all dangerous - they should be banned" comes from confirmation bias. The idiots make themselves visible in the worst possible way, but we don't notice the sensible ones, just as we don't notice the motorcycle quietly getting on with their business, only the ones that drive dangerously or inconsiderately.

As for licensing of jetskiers, be careful what you wish for...

 

[Refueler]

Bring in restrictions as needed.

Catch a few, scrap the Jetski, Scrap the tow vehicles for repeat offenders. Take the driving licence off repeat, repeat offenders. - The word will get around.



Wring your hands, say it's all very difficult, let things slide. - It will get worse, like behaviour in much of civil society in the UK.


.

Reminds me .... (thread drift) ...

Cannot remember where - but there was a country that if you were caught DRunk Driving ... the car could be confiscated and crushed.

Latvia obviously saw this and when Russia - Ukraine war took headlines - modified it slightly ...

Depending on the level of drunkeness when caught - the car could be confiscated and shipped to Ukraine for military / Medical transport use. Sounds good - except a recent study showed that barely 2% of the cars actually made it to Ukraine ... the other 98% simply dissapeared .... word is that depending on age and make of car - it could be 'appropriated' before shipping out .... if you get my meaning !!

 

[Refueler]

We all hate inconsiderate idiots, whether they're on the road or on the water, but I suspect that "they're all dangerous - they should be banned" comes from confirmation bias. The idiots make themselves visible in the worst possible way, but we don't notice the sensible ones, just as we don't notice the motorcycle quietly getting on with their business, only the ones that drive dangerously or inconsiderately.

As for licensing of jetskiers, be careful what you wish for...

Very true ...

But with regard to licencing ... lets be honest - the 'fear' of boaters needing to get licenced ? Yes its nice that UK has this freedom to boat unlike most other countries. But the licence acquisition need not be so bad ...

For most boaters with reasonable size boats - who want to sail to other countries - ICC as minimum needed. And I suggest that many join RYA to avail themselves of the ICC free with membership ... add the CEVNI exam and sail class to it ... you have a licence.

Licences do not make better users ... but licence gives opportunity to LOSE it if caught being stupid.

That's an interesting item - can you have RYA ICC taken from you ?

 

[BobnLesley]

... lake is deemed a wildlife/bird protection zone and the whole lake is a 4knot max restricted zone...

While burbling through Miami we had a wet bike zoom closely down our starboard side, U-turn so close ahead of the bow that we lost sight of it then back up the port side where they collided heavily (bits and people flying in all directions) with a very substantial post carrying the sign reading 'Manatee Zone, Slow Speed, No wake'

 

[Bouba]

Clearly the real solution is to allow the Royal Navy to use them as test targets for new weapons.

All that will do is demonstrate to rogue states how to avoid the RN shooting at you

 

[Boathook]

Very true ...

But with regard to licencing ... lets be honest - the 'fear' of boaters needing to get licenced ? Yes its nice that UK has this freedom to boat unlike most other countries. But the licence acquisition need not be so bad ...

For most boaters with reasonable size boats - who want to sail to other countries - ICC as minimum needed. And I suggest that many join RYA to avail themselves of the ICC free with membership ... add the CEVNI exam and sail class to it ... you have a licence.

Licences do not make better users ... but licence gives opportunity to LOSE it if caught being stupid.

That's an interesting item - can you have RYA ICC taken from you ?

Possibly it can be revoked, but you don't require it to sail in UK waters.

 

[Bouba]

There has never been a law written by the hand of man that hasn’t backfired onto the blameless

 

[Sea Change]

There has never been a law written by the hand of man that hasn’t backfired onto the blameless

Sounds like an excuse for anarchy.
We have laws against murder, theft, speeding, etc etc. On balance these do more good than harm.

My view is that PWCs do a lot more harm than good. So I would support a ban on them on environmental, safety, and noise grounds. There's are other ways of getting your thrills on the water that don't disturb or harm other people or wildlife.