Canal Wakes - Has everyone lost their minds?

F

footloose

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Joined
Dec 10, 2001
RO Number
6963
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619
Been living on a no wake canal directly off a no wake portion of the ICWW for the past 15 years and all of sudden I think everyone has lost their minds....people are going by at 10 knots putting up 24 inch wakes and slamming my Dads 15 footer into the seawall despite oversized whips.

Full moon? Tourists in July? WTH - I dont want to be the old guy shaking his fist at every other boat/jet ski but it is getting ridiculous. They popped two medium sized fenders and banged up the back of my 40 footer in the last month.

do I call cops or what?
 
Most boaters have no clue what "Minimum Wake" and "No Wake" even mean.

Bob
 
There are some (most) younger boaters that have been raised with no rules, why should they start following any now.
 
It's not just the young folks. We came across Florida and coming out of one of the bridges a flotilla of motor yachts all throttled up and passed us as well as a mess of docks on the shoreline.
Unfreaking believable. A home owner was calling on the radio and we gave him all of the boat names and ports of call. We were idle in neutral and they plowed by us leaving 2 foot wakes in close quarters. Totally inconsiderate, arrogant, pr1cks that need a lesson.
 
We were coming back last night approaching the rickenbacker causeway here on the bay, 8:30 pm so fully dark when I spotted a high speed echo coming from behind, doing about 20/25 kts judging both radar trail. I have very limited visibility aft especially at night so I left the helm to see what was closing expecting the typical center console

Turned out to be an 80 or 85 Mutt aiming to pass within 50' off our stbd side despite having a mile wide stretch of open waters. Had to make a quick turn to take the 4' wake on the stern instead of rolling around, possibly injuring people down below.

I know where your house is Olivier, the ICW is a minimum wake zone so rowing a huge wake is inexcusable
 
I know folks that throw beer bottles at people that are this disrespectful. If they do not answer a hail bounce a bottle off the foredeck next time.

Further, do not be afraid to call the next bridge or lock they are headed for and report them.

You never know, the L.E.'s might be very willing to meet them and have a discussion.
 
guess I need to take photos with boat names and give the cops a jingle .... or go down to their parked vessel with the harley and fire up an arneson rooster tail and fill their cockpits - LOL
 
Don't waste your time with FWC, they don't give a number two about safety....
 
Take photos with registration numbers if you can. BSO was very helpful here in Dania Beach on the cutoff canal. That's what they told us to do. Seems like word got out fast about the cops writing tickets on the cutoff a few years back.
 
I was told that in Florida if one gets a ticket and fights it, the fwc or police has a problem, they can't take you to traffic court so it ends up in criminal court and the judges there don't want to deal with it, bottom line it goes nowhere. The person that told me is a city official and boater himself and he had gone through this whole dance he said.
 
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