THRILLSEEKER

Just wondering if there was an open season on jet skiers?
I know this topic gets brought up a lot but after this weekend I have to vent some rage
Saturday morning I was leaving the channel running down the shoreline of Lake Erie about a mile offshore comming up on a giant cruiser when out of no where comes this guy on a jet ski trying to cross in front of me from my starboard side so he could jump the wake of the cruiser that was on my port side.
The guy on the jet ski finally realized that their was no way he was going to make it past me when he was about 20 ft. from me. If he had not spun his pwc around at the last second he would have plowed right into the side of my boat After this the little bastard stopped and thew up his arms like he wanted to fight or something. I just kept on going. I just hope he Sh!t his pants good!!! I also hope that he remembers what almost happened the next time he goes to cut in front of someone :

BAJA WILL

Don't feel bad, I got cut off by a deck boat full of people pulling three tubes sunday. Mind you I was in my Dads Poontoon, I was going up the channel 10mph boat came right at me, I alway try to give a skier the right of way, so I stopped (completely). But the guy swarved slinging the tubes way out , one came within 10 feet of the front toon. People on boat cheered like it was a rush, I wonder how much of a rush it would have been if the kid on the tube hit me and died??

Sorry I had to vent also!!!!!!

WILL

MIdnightRider

As an ex-Jet Ski Racer, I am saddened at what dumb asses the Jet Ski group has now become. Those A-Holes sit at the mouth of the channel in Grand Haven jumping wakes without a clue as to what is going on around them. The Sunday after Smoke OTW Apache Kid and I were coming back from Muskegon coming into the Grand Haven Channel area. We were kinda racing, and one of those sonsa*****es jumps a wake and goes right in front of me, I'm running like 50, I have to pull it right back, hit neutral. I yell out, "What the hell do you think your doing", and he f*ckin flips me off and rides away. If I had run that ******* over in my 42, he wouldn't have had bone not broke to flip me off. Dont even get me going about these people, I wont even let the wife drive around that area because I do not trust those guys and their crazy lines and decision making. Midnight

Ted G

iTrader: (1)

Speaking as a sometime jet skier(well o.k., every weekend) it really pisses me off when a big honkin' cruiser comes down the river throwing up a HUGE wake that is perfect for jumping. Then I look back and some guy in a smaller boat is surfing along in his wake cause he's too afraid to run around or through it Now, I know most of the members of this board would just throttle up and let that puppy fly, but next time your doggin' along at 20 mph behind some aft cabin floating warehouse and you see some jet ski guys looking at you real pissed-off like at least you'll know why

Oh and BTW, I make no apologies for any of these other morons out there, this weekend alone I saw at least 2 guys(with girls riding on the back) almost get run down doing stupid wake jumps-too many riders really suck-sort of like a lot of the crotch rocket riders on the street

Tinkerer

Would you believe that I was cut off by the sheriff patrol on sunday. The river was busy and I was crusing up the right side overtaking two slower boats and the sheriff boat was 250 ft to the left behind these boats. I planed to go between these boats when the sheriff without looking cut over to take that spot. I swerved to the left and cut behind him at about 60 ft. Only then did he notice me. Maybe I should have had my exhaust open so that he could have heard me coming. I was only doing 50 mph. No he didn't pull me over. SMART MAN. Saw him later at the ramp since we both pulled out at the same time. He didn't say a thing. Maybe he didn't even know what he did. Even some of the water cops don't know how to drive a boat.

dloftis

Hey thrillseeker,

While I understand your frustration with the general stupidity of jetskiers, in the situation you described, you should be the one apologizing.

Two vessels under power are equal... and if he was crossing from your starboard to your port, he had the right of way over you and you should have given way.

Again, I don't like the way some of these guys drive... but just because you're bigger doesn't mean you shouldn't give right of way when they should have it.

Chris288

Nice pick-up there Dloftis...


I am a jet-skiier/boater also, and I find myself in BAD situations with boats all the time, they have ABSOLUTELY no respect for jet-skiiers, and think they own the water ways. owning both a boat and a jet-ski has opened my eyes... The same people who would give me the shirt of their backs when i'm in my Baja, try to run me over when I'm on my jet-ski... I have been running along in a straight line and had BOATS fly by me 5 feet away doing 60,, like it was some kind of game to scare the **** out of the jet-skiier..

I do admit that some jet-skiiers are just plain reckless, dont pay attention and are dangerous.

jr

I had a numbnut almost hit me at the ramp Sunday. I had just put the boat in when 3 of these guys were on the other side of the dock. 2 buzz off headed out and the 3rd bumped this throttle and headed for my stern. He was able to push off and not hit me. His buddies were telling him to turn the bars the other way when he was trying to get going. I have a feeling it was his first time on one. I don't have a problem with them but don't practice near me!!

MIdnightRider

First let me say that I began Jet Skiing in 1986, my parents had a cruiser boat and I had to have one to play on while we were at the lake. I then pursued it to a local and national racing level over the coarse of the next ten years. I used to live for the sport as I do boating now, but my friends and I had boating knowledge. Today many that own(I used to sell them too) have never been in a boat, have never taken a marne safety coarse, and have no understanding for the rules of the water because it is not required. Joe and Smoe out to go jump waves with no regard for common sense. The main idea about most things in life, boating included, common sense rules. If two large boats are pursuing a straight line toward a pier head, one would think not to run in front of their line. They (the skis) just whip around with no regard for others lines. Generally boats that are in travel pursue a consistant straight or arched line, not going right left right, it is just frustrating. It happens almost every single time I am coming in and out of the Grand Haven Channel. The cops used to chase us all over when we kids, what happened. Now there more worried about do I have a throwable on my sport boat, and that boat seems a little load. Yeah it is load, about 110 DB's, but its for safety so everyone knows where I am at , go save some lives and arrest a few Jet Skiers. Midnight

dloftis

Midnight I won't disagree with you. The general jetski population is made up of wreckless morons. Then again, the powerboating population in general seems to be that way, with some exceptions.

I was just pointing out that by the description, the ski had the right of way. Who knows what the circumstances really are... but I'd bet that if you stopped every boat you saw on a given day that less than 10% of the captains would know the "rules of the road", especially right of ways.