YES! Because one captain bonehead is representative of an entire class of boats. :rolleye2:

Big Cruisers And Their Wakes
 

Just today my missus, son, and a friend were returning from a trip down to Alton Bay to visit a friend and a Carver came through the passage between Pig and Lockes Island at mush-speed. We were trying to get into Smith Cove before the afternoon thunderstorm hit and we had to throttle way back (we didn't want to get airborne!) and endure a soaking from the wake that came splashing over the bow. We didn't get nearly that wet from the rain shower we passed through not 10 minutes before.

The fellow driving the boat (I refuse to say he was piloting because he was just futzing around) was oblivious to the effect his wake was having on the other traffic trying to get in and out of Glendale and Smith's Cove.

Some folks are just clueless. What's worse, some choose to stay that way.:(

Most of the big cruisers have names on them, right? Perhaps, rather than bundling them all into one category and cursing them as a group, the ones that do something really stupid should be called out by the name of their vessel, with a description of the incident. Minimally, I would think the indignation of being called out as an inconsiderate captain would make them more cognizant of the results of their actions, but it would also allow them the opportunity to state their case and explain why they think their actions were misrepresented.

That would make for some fun reading.

Depending on how you define big, there can't be more than twenty big crusiers berthed in Smith cove. Go find the boat and make the owner responsible for his wake.

A lot of boat owners don't realize that going slower (mush speed) makes a much bigger wake than fully on plane. Maybe we should but that on the seat cushions. :laugh:

Not a good guess... :D

That cruiser didn't come out of Smith Cove, but from Saunders Bay. He was heading east and cut across the entrance to Glendale and Smith Cove.

I would have checked his bow number or written down the name on the transom but was too busy dealing with the aftermath of the drenching and I didn't want to tarry as the thunderstorms were almost upon us.:eek:

Next time, assuming there is a next time (and of course there will be), I'll be ready with a digital still or video camera...or at least a piece of paper and a scibble stick.

Well if he came out of Saunders, there's a lot more big cruisers in there. It's surprising that people go through that channel when they don't have to. It's my first year in there and I never seem to be able to plane up until I reach FL 26 or FL 53. There's not a lot of boats, they just seem to spaced just right.

From a distance, I saw the Mount Washington go through that channel two years ago. I wish I was closer.

It's not just the cruiser operators that seem to be clueless this season. :rolleye1: I was on vacation last week, and did a lot of cruising at a nice, easy 1200 - 1500 rpm pace; I lost count of the number of boneheads in "family bowriders" that zipped past me within 50 feet.

I even had an encounter with one of the excursion boats that zipped past me in a no wake zone and came so close that I had to reverse my engines! :eek:

Somehow, I gt the feeling that the mandatory boating safety course isn't working all that well....

Silver Duck

Which excursion boat "zipped" past you...
 

and I hope you filed an official complaint to the Crusie Line!

I didn't realize any of the excursion boats on Winni were capable of zipping...I know they throw big wakes - was a favorite past time of my friends and I to take our 15 hp aluminium boats and run them through the wakes of Sophie and Doris!! They were cruising with their big ole wakes - but I would not say they were zippy...:rolleye2:

wildwoodfam

I guess "zip" is kind'o relative. :D Since it was flat calm, I was idling along as slowly as my boat will go (3.7 mph - I checked my GPS), which was all I needed for steerage way. I didn't so much mind him passing me as I did getting cut off! :(

As for filing a complaint, I did so directly with him - via both VHF and the five horn blast "bonehead seranade". :rolleye1: Basically, all it got me was a dirty look out the pilot house window. With no damage or injury involved, I figured there wasn't much sense in a flatlander filing a formal complaint against a local.

And, boy do you have it right about wake size from the Sophie and the Doris. When I see the Sophie going by my slip, I've learned to sit down and hang on; I can't imagine hitting that wake at speed in a small aluminum boat (and, don't want to! :eek: )

Silver Duck

Re: Flatlander vs. Local - I hear ya Silver!
 

It's tough to go up against the local lakers - especially the cruise lines who believe that they "own the waves!" At any rate - a call to the MP just the same if it were to happen again - could not hurt! I once filed a complaint against a local polic officer who I saw turn on his lights and siren to get around a traffic jam. I called the police dept headquarters and reported the incident - my cousin, a captain in taht department later informed me that they had in fact reprimanded the officer in question for violations - using his sirens and lights for non-emergency situations. It was not his first time!!:rolleye2:

By the way - jumping the wakes back in the 80's - may have been crazy - but it was SOME KINDA FUN!!! :D

Fun
 

Was fun even earlier too ! But as my Dad used to say "It's all fun until the windsheild falls off the boat".