On Sun, 11 Nov 2007 12:17:52 -0800, "Capt. JG"
wrote:

Wayne... doesn't matter if it's intentional or not. You're responsible for
your wake. Having a bigger boat doesn't absolve you of your
responsibilities; it increases them.

The legality of being responsible for your wake is well understood.

It is understood to mean that you are responsible for damage caused by
your wake. It has been pointed out to me that my comment of "no
blood, no foul" was possibly flippant and insensitive. Perhaps. It
is however closely aligned with the legality of the issue. It is
always a judgement call just how much wake reduction is actually
called for in any given situation. I'm sure you'd agree that a kayak
or rowing shell is at much more risk from a wake than a 30 or 40
something sailboat. Most responsible powerboaters are faced with that
sort of decision process dozens of times in a typical afternoon on the
water. It is absolutely unreasonable to expect zero wake in every
circumstance unless you are on a boat that could actually be damaged
by a relatively small wave. The fact is that we hear of very few
cases where there is actual damage from a wake. So even though there
is a lot of complaining going on, very little actual carnage is taking
place. Insensitive? Frankly, I don't think so. I go out in both
small and large boats. When I'm out in a small one I expect others to
take reasonable precautions but I certainly don't expect flat water
much as I might like it. A good helmsman on a boat, small or large,
knows how to deal with a wake to minimize its effects. It's part of
boating.

By way of example, I recently took my 11 foot inflatable RIB dinghy
for an afternoon ride on Pamlico Sound behind the Outer Banks of North
Carolina. This an area of open water frequented by large numbers of
sportfishing boats greater than 40 ft. You could argue that an 11 ft
RIB is not really suited for those conditions but there I was anyway.
Since the channel is none too wide in many places, I got waked at
least a dozen times. Uncomfortable? You bet. Dangerous?
Potentially. Nevertheless I was able to cope by managing my speed and
angle of approach. Did I get paranoid and accuse anyone of
deliberately endangering me? Heck no, I'm the one who chose to be in
their playground, in a potentially unsuitable boat.