Additional No Wake Zone!

[Flutterby]

"Cruisin the Delta" column in this month's Bay & Delta Yachtsman includes an update on the San Joaquin County's attempts to deal with this situation on page 30. One thing that caught my attention is that both SJC proposed law and the current law in CoCoCo include the requirement to pass any vessel of 16 ft or less at idle, no wake speed anywhere in the county:

"the area within one hundred feet of any vessel sixteen feet in length or smaller, except for a personal watercraft, that is likely to be endangered by the wake of a passing vessel, is a speed zone."

So watch out for dinghies and small runabouts and fishing boats! BTW---most bass fishing boats are closer to 20 ft in length......

 

[deltabighat]

Flutterby,

I assume they mean a boat stopped or at anchor. Passing a small boat trolling or just meandering around at idle would be tough to do......might take days.

DBH

 

[UpperDecker]

I'm all for safety, but I just see this law as an invitation to numerous frivolous lawsuits.

 

[Flutterby]

I've seen boaters in small vessels just tuling along get hit by a wake which threw the boater out of the boat, leaving an engine/prop running in circles and a swimmer in the water. It can happen and the boat which made the wake had no idea! I wouldn't assume anything........

 

[DLL]

Can we ask the little guys to put an orange flag up on their stern?

Once again, if they are on the deep water channel? If they tie up for fishing and a ship
comes by at 12 knots? I understood the CG to say we don't have to slow down if we are in the deep water channel. Has that changed?

 

[Flutterby]

If you can stay 100 ft away from the little vessel, you do not have to slow.......sometimes I'll speed up to lessen my wake under those conditions.

 

[dugsboat]

Good grief, that will never fly. How about a little common sense. Anybody want to take a bet on this not becoming law?

 

[Flutterby]

dugs, it is already part of the county enforcement code which went into effect about a year ago. There are several parts of the new ordinance which seems questionable, but it will have to be challenged in court to get it rescinded. However, I haven't heard of anyone being warned or cited for this infraction.....yet!

CoCoCo does not seem to have any common sense, but neither do some boaters!!!!