Peter Wiley wrote:
In article .com,
wrote:

You seem to be saying that the law should be administered on a
case-by-case
wherein we decide in the case of every individual boater whether or not
they
have the pre-existing skills and experience to just get out of having
the take the class.

Seems ridiculous to me and I just don't see what the big deal is. You
say the 8-hour
course is "a burden on my time that I do not have now," but then
describe yourself
(stating the obvious) as a recreational sailor, so this would be the
equivalent of one good
day on the water you might have to give up. I still don't think the
burden is that onerous.

Maybe you're just saying that there should be a distinction made
between sailors and
power-boaters. I don't know that I disagree vehemently with that, I
think the licensing is
an excellent idea for pwc'ers and all other power-boaters, and the
proof is in the pudding in
the accident statistics states where these laws have already been
booked. Lives have been
saved, the water is safer overall in those places, I think it's well
worth it.

If we just passed a law prohibiting any recreational power vessel from
exceeding 10 knots, the problem (and PWC's) would go away. Accident
stats would show a huge drop.

Hey, Rich, if it saves one life, it's worth it......


I don't really see this "slippery slope" type argument. Seems to me
there is a difference between outlawing any activities (which you
sarcastically suggest here), which no one is talking about here, and
trying to assure that people who do them have been instructed in the
basics of doing them safely for the benefit of everybody sharing the
waters.

BTW, did you ever figure out what kinetic energy was, and why a PWC was
a lot more dangerous than a 16' sailing dinghy? No?


What do you mean, I already conceded that sailboats are far less
dangerous than power boats.

Hey do any of you guys have anything against the pwc's that are
frequently used as the vessel of choice by law enforcement deams in
rescue operations, as in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and in
many other cases.

Anybody read the article in the last Boat US issue about pwcs' place in
the boating world these days? Old prejudicial stereotypes against
these types of boats and their operators are going to continue to go by
the wayside fast. Park after national park are pulling back on
restricitve bans against pwc as results from environmental impact
analyses come in and confirm that pwc's are as clean and quiet and
non-intrusive to the environment, as any other kind of powerboat being
made, and more so than most; accident, violation and injury statistics
will continue to fall as more areas insist on education new entrants to
the sport (or recreational hobby) - and in areas where only pwc'ers
have to get certified, well, they'll be among the most informed (and
probably best-attituded) group among newbie boaters.

I know it's all baloney and can't let myself get upset over the
anti-pwc comments (although it's tough) because I know I'm on the water
every weekend eight months of the year and encounter NONE of that nasty
insulting attitude or comments except right here on usenet.

richforman

PDW