Wrong and dangerous

S

Skeetobite

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Wow, what a night! Stayed at the Marina on Longboat Key to take in what a holiday weekend looks like at our new digs. Pretty cool. We could see fireworks 360 degrees around us. Great facility and friendly people.

The shocker was what we saw on Sarasota Bay in under an hour (after dark):

  • One boat with port and starboard navigation lights reversed - making what appeared to be 20kts+ outside the marked channel
  • Two boats underway with the anchor light on
  • One 50'+ yacht underway with the helm fully lit and jammed full of people
  • At least 5 boats underway with no running lights on at all. We could just make out the shape of the boats as they motored by!
  • 40'+ Sea ray MY with 22 - that's Twenty Two! people on the foredeck! Crowded around with people hanging their legs over the rail as they were coming in to dock! - The horror!

That's just the obvious stuff we saw. Thankfully we didn't see any accidents and it looks like everyone will live to do it wrong again next year.

The State & local police, Coast Guard and sheriff were pulling boats over left and right for stuff like this, but with hundreds of boats on the water, they couldn't stop all of them.
 
Around 10:30pm last night a boat, about 25-28' in size motors by at about 10knots maybe 25' from our stern. After calling over to slow down the guy says, "Sorry about the wake but we really need to get going..." Honesty is one thing but he's still a jerk!

(Oh yea, while he had forward nav lights his aft light was out.)
 
I remember one of my first boatng experiences as a passenger on a brand spankin new 36' Searay.

The owner had taken a USCG course when he bought the vessel, his first boat.

Going across Sarasota Bay in a chop, a 74 year old grandma wanted to ride on the bow, sitting on teh deck with no PFD. When the chop kicked up he continued across the bay with her clinging on to the bowrail. A very wet grandma got off the boat on the other side of the bay.

Going down the intercoastal coming into a very narrow manatee/no wake zone just south of teh North Siesta Key bridge. The capn & mate thought all those people were yelling and waving at them because they had a nice boat so they waved back!

Another was watching them try to anchor off Longboat Key with zero anchor chain. Nice arguments ensued whan the capn & first mate argued over how to do that properly.

The final was attending the Sarasota Offshore Grand Prix on same boat. Out in the gulf with the floatilla of spectators. The extended family and children were aboard when the (old style 1984) gasoline fume detector went off.

No one aboard really had a clue as to what to do.

Leaving the dock meant 1 hour of prep, returning to dock meant 2 hours of cleaning.

Along with the same capn in a 21' Sea Ray in the Gulf of MExico at WOT or close to it. I sat a close to th etransom as possible to avoid as much of the pounding as I could. Had a sore back the next day.

I distinctly remember sitting there having the $hit pounded out of me and the boat watching the capn hold on to the wheel just to avoid being tossed out of the boat and I'm trying to figure out why this BOATING thing was so much fun.

For me it wasn't.

These events really turned me off to boating. I began to create excuses for not accepting invitations.

These people were intelligent and caring but never had a clue. They ultimately got out of boating after the boat use declined to zero as no one wanted to go out and "have a good time"

Had they gotten some practical information and practiced sommon sense instead of arrogance and elitism, they might have been able to grow into this sport and really gotten something out of it.

Somehow, I thing that they are the typical 50% or more of the boating population at large.

THose of us who have worked hard to learn and ue care are in the minority.

Do you think I'm correct on this?

RWS
 
quote:
Originally posted by RWS

Those of us who have worked hard to learn and use care are in the minority.

Do you think I'm correct on this?

RWS

Click to expand...


Yes, absolutely!
 
I can remember watching the fireworks one year off Sarasota while on charter when the local water taxi boat started sinking with a baby on board in the middle of the masses. The police helicopter hovered over head with it's light on it so the rescue boats could find it in the mess and the work the scene.

Next thing you know, you start hearing people calling on channel 16 and demanding that the police helicopter turn it's "GD" light off because it's wrecking their view of the fireworks!
 
yesterday was typical of a south florida holiday... seems like it's the day where people who never use their boat have to go out.

during the day, we were out on our boat at the sandbar, enjoying the common but always entertaining anchoring show. Folks with 2:1 scope, reversing at high speed and dragging everywhere.

one guy with a 40'ish sportfish put on a really good show. we were on the sandbar with the tender and he came bow in, pretty close to us even though it was early and there was a ton of room... drops anchor bow in 3' of water, sends someone in water to check the anchor with 20' scope. Problem is that he was stern to the wind, which was light, unfortunately. of course he started pushign on the sound bar so a second guy gets off and starts pushing the bow. then the stern which by then had gotten a little sideways, props in the much. yes, he was reversing with one guy pushing off teh side, near the stern...

tried that same maneuver twice, before realizing that everybody else was pointing the other way.

Last night, we went out on a 58 footer... i lost count of the number of boats with...

-tons of ligths near the helm and or electgronics on full bright. means teh driver is blind as a bat.
-idiots who think their driving a car and it's ok to drive with their headlights on. why is it labelled "spotlight" anyway... must be like a bathroom is called a head and the kitchen a galley
-small boats with missing sternlights... these guys dont realize that unless you pay attention, they are almost invisible to boats coming from behind. at 9 kts, i can see them (unless some moron comes on the otherway with his spotlight on), but they are invisible to those idiots with lights and electronics on who run at 20 kts.
-guys who insist on passing in a narrow channel with a line of boats already 3 or 4 wide...

It's always entertaining, and it's nice to be on big tank of a hatteras. Last year we got dragged on by a 5 small boat raft up who tangled up in our rode, got all chain so it their problem and I don'w have to worry about a knife coming out of nowwhere to slice the line. and also a 50ish Mutt who ripped part of his rubrail and bent his passerelle on our bow, barely leaving a scratch.

got to love those guys, they are so entertaining!

and the best for last... got waked while anchored at the sandbar by a TowboatUS - biscayne Towing guy, not in the lighter rib but in the heavier steel boat (30' or so). Passes within 50' of us and other boats... When i yell and wave him to slow down, he turns on his flashing lights and point at them. nice try...

briefly called him 16 to tell him he had no business running that fast, that close to boats with swimmers...

he came by later and explains, with an attitude, that he was responding to a call. wouldn't understand that this doesn't give him any right to do what he did and or that he could have passed just 1/4 miles around teh anchorage at speed if he wanted. Apparently, he was racing Sea Tow to a small boat disabled on the other side of the sandbar... he lost the race.

the "conversation" ended with him telling me that if i was a boatUs member, not to count on him if i ever take on water and me telling him that i'd never let someone so unprofessional near my boat anyway...
 
I ALWAYS have my white 360 light on at night. I WANT to be seen!
 
All of the above is exactly why, on a holiday week end, my boat stays tied to the dock.

It just isn't worth it. Tomorrow morning, I'll get on my boat and head out for two-three days of quiet, peacful boating.

I'm really glad everyone has made it home safe and sound though.

Bob
 
tied up at the marina early walked to a nice dinner then had a great view of the fireworks and zillions of boats anchored off. No problems at all cause I didn’t have to move the boat until today. All those small lights in the top of the picture are anchored boats.
b4s_pinfourth070509a_75033d.jpg
 
Whenever we do an event in the harbor, we always wait around forsome time after it's over to allow the drunks a chance to get out ahead of us.

Independence day and new years day fireworks, Xmas boat parades and the Freedom swim are good examples.

RWS
 
we spent 3 nights on the boat this weekend- 2 of those rafted up with good friends more or less in the heart of Lake Lanier's fireworks viewing area. You could get closer than we were at but there is no way you could have gotten a better view AND had a great beach to play on all weekend! We all agreed- number of boaters seemed to be down and except for one or two boats, everyone was extremely civil, well mannered, and safe. I've found, thus far, anchoring out early (for us that means about 36 hours in advance!), and leaving late (i.e. the next day) gives you the chance to find the best and safest anchorage and have the best time with the best viewing. Now last year though...that was a zoo! This year was absolutely great though.
 
We were fishing in the bay north of Grand Isle, La. Sat. night and on the way in, I came up on a boat
with no lights on at all. I saw him because I saw the light from his GPS just before we got to him.
I called on the VHF and got no answer. I also hit the horn a couple times and no one looked our way.
My wife was freaking out all the way back to the dock.
 
when the sun goes down, we're at our slip, sitting on the bridge
sipin a cold water and havin a cigar.
 
It is the idiots that make events No FUN at times. We did as most of you did, We waited until the fools got off the river before we broke the raftup. On the way back to the marina with about 10 Express Crusiers in a line some screw ball in a 18ft with no lights on cuts in front of a 34Ft SunDancer(Wild Rice) He never saw the little fella. We(the group) are on the radio warning others of the idiots and fools, to make sure we all return safe and we did!!
 
We were in Annapolis and saw all the same things as above on the 4th, but the worse was on the third we were on the south river right before the Rt 2 bridge and passed a DNR boat heading out to the bay they passed right by us and a boat next to us I was waiting for them to stop the boat next to us for no white light and only a red front light but they didn't they just went on there way. if it wasnt for the moon I would could have hit the guy and DNR didnt bother even responding when I called them on 16 to let them know giving them the benefit that maybe they missed the guy.
 
Everyday in Newbury port is chock full of psychos!
 
This weekend wasn't bad in my harbor.

There were fewer boats in the harbor than I've ever seen on a 4th of July weekend. More on Sunday than Saturday. Aside from a lost fender, not much adventure in mooring field.

Saturday night after the fireworks saw a few knuckleheads. A few RIBs running around without lights - one right in front of me with shore lights behind them; my mother-in-law gave them an good tongue lashing. Good thing I was going idle speed. One trawler with a massive spot light lighting up the mooring field and blinding everyone. And then my favorite - an express cruiser with so many lights on, I couldn't figure out which end was forward. It had 4 red lights in the arch - 2 shining down, 2 in each side - plus more shining up from the cockpit. Then it had spot lights mounted under the swim platform and shining backward across the water. Plus more various lights. Really a hazard to navigation, IMO, as it both obscured the nav lights and blinded other boaters.

I heard many pan-pan calls from Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound on Saturday - easily 8 or 9. They were mostly for boats adrift and boats taking water. This really got me thinking about how useful a properly configured DSC radio can be. Many of the pan-pan reports from the CG asked other mariners to be on the lookout because the distress call was received without further information. If the boater in distress kicked off a distress call with a DSC radio connected to a GPS, the CG would automatically log their position and send help.
 
Skeetobight, Did you move out of Twin Dolphins Marina? Where did you wind up going? Did you save any money at the new place? Always looking if ya know what I mean.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Ocean Spray

Skeetobight, Did you move out of Twin Dolphins Marina? Where did you wind up going? Did you save any money at the new place? Always looking if ya know what I mean.

Click to expand...


We moved to Longboat Key Moorings. No savings :-( They are at $20 per foot plus a monthly resort fee.

We really wanted out of our current marina. After 3 years, we are ready for some new digs. We were so ready to go, I paid through the end of the lease and cast off.
 
Until recently I kept my boat at Longboat Key Moorings and I rented a 45 foot slip from someone who owned the slip but had no boat. He was asking $475/month plus electric and was able to work him down a little off of that. As of the 4th he was still looking for a tenant. Found him on Craigslist.org Sarasota-Bradenton under boats for sale and searched for "slip". It's a beautiful marina and the only reason I didn't stay there was I found out my insurance wouldn't cover me if I slipped my boat on a barrier island. I still have his number if anyone is interested in saving a few bucks.
 
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