Hate boating on Holidays.

Outstanding




be_prepared said:
The past couple of years we spent Memorial Day weekend at Oak Bluffs on Cape Cod. As long as we get over there early (usually Friday morning), and are in a slip instead of a mooring, it's a pretty relaxed weekend for us. The harbor does get a little crazy, and the moorings during holiday weekends can get so thick you feel like you could walk across the harbor.

This year we went just for two days in Falmouth on Cape Cod, due to weather. It was a nice alternative, but still you see the folks that probably shouldn't be in command of a boat out there. This photo was at sunset, with Beginnings settled into her berth for the night. While walking along the waterfront well after dark, we saw multiple boats coming into the pretty crowded harbor with no navigation lights! This is a harbor with ferry service to the Vineyard, multiple charter operations, etc. Just crazy to see a 26' boat coming up the harbor in the dark with no lights.

Still, a nice sunset...
View attachment 49434
Click to expand...
 
Nothing better than "rental mentals." Saw a pontoon dragging an anchor through a 4 ft deep channel, a boat run up a dock, and a pontoon crash. Lol.


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I hate pulling into my marina while a boat load of boozed up baboons in a cigarette boat is leaving the dock side bar. wtf is wrong with people, guy is way out in front of me on my right heading straight then he cuts over to my left then comes straight on at me. This is all at no wake speed and I'm maintaining my heading. he's getting closer still coming straight on so I steer to the right and cross on my port side. guy stand up and yells at me, "How much F*** river do you need" .. all of it I guess ... I'm thinking about changing my marina, these drunks are annoying.
 
About 10 of us went out and rafted tonight to watch fireworks. About 10:00 a boat went cruising by on plane and it was very dark. Coming back in we were tying up back at the dock and our whole river is no wake. It is a T where the Ohio is no limit but the river that runs into it is no wake, which is where our marina is about 1/4 mile in. About 11:00 tonight a boat came in on plane and backed off just before our marina. To make matters worse our river is full of debris from the rain. Yesterday I saw a complete tire and rim floating down river and about a 10-12' log about 8" around float by. I actually hit something coming in tonight off the Ohio but I was only going about 5 MPH. Felt it go under and hit my prop. At least 3 of us hit it.
 
We took our boat out yesterday to go anchor out for the day. I had to make a turn to port in order to enter a channel, and as I was starting my turn as 22ft bow rider tries to take me on the my port side while I was initiating my turn. I had to come out of gear, almost miss the turn and this guy was yelling at me. He had no radio to tell me his intentions and did. It begin to slow down.


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Went out yesterday, was pretty annoying. Mostly the PWCs were the culprits though. Got out nice and early and anchored well out of channel to relax in our tubes. By about noon the PWCs were out (we call them the Jet Ski Mafia), buzzing by us a full tilt 20-30' off our side. Driving back was a crapshow. Bunch of morons queued up for the fuel dock blocking the channel into the ramp, yelling at me for cutting through "THERE'S A LINE". Yeah, and I'm not getting in it.
 
Counter to the tune of this thread,

Over all...I like the boating holidays :)
Plenty of people out using their boats for a change.
Lots of party's and good cheer.

Loads of "OMG look at that" moments..
Like the guy who thinks his boat will drift the opposite way in the mooring field to all the other boats!
The hilarious boat ramp antics!
The busy TowBoat operators with the various boats in tow!
The bikini clad crews that have zero idea how to help the clueless Capt. trying desperately to dock at the fuel dock!
The f'ing moron who thinks he's exempt from the no wake zone because, he's in an open boat and he saw lightning in the distance (oh my)!!

All that free entertainment was just yesterday :)


Several more days of this ahead....
Please, no one get hurt dealing with the noobs out there....enjoy!
 
Last edited:
Air O'Nautical said:
Counter to the tune of this thread,

Over all...I like the boating holidays :)
Plenty of people out using their boats for a change.
Lots of party's and good cheer.

Loads of "OMG look at that" moments..
Like the guy who thinks his boat will drift the opposite way in the mooring field to all the other boats!
The hilarious boat ramp antics!
The busy TowBoat operators with the various boats in tow!
The bikini clad crews that have zero idea how to help the clueless Capt. trying desperately to dock at the fuel dock!
The f'ing moron who thinks he's exempt from the no wake zone because, he's in an open boat and he saw lightning in the distance (oh my)!!

All that free entertainment was just yesterday :)


Several more days of this ahead....
Please, no one get hurt dealing with the noobs out there....enjoy!
Click to expand...

Haha, we might go over to the marina for lunch tomorrow just to watch. Will be nice to not be trying to navigate the mess.
 
We went out Saturday after lunch, not too bad. Did have a redneck in his cigarette boat raising hell and of course a couple of idiots coming down the channel on the wrong side and oblivious to everyone around them.
 
There was no shortage of stupidity in Michigan City and New Buffalo this past weekend, that is for sure.
 
JVM225 said:
Unfortunately, the noisy party atmosphere is not uncommon. Especially on holiday weekends.
Most marinas have policies of some sort about noise but often there is nobody around late at night to enforce them when they are being violated.
Some places have sections that regulars get to know are quieter than others.
Our town transient marina (Tobay) is like that. I rarely spend the night there, but when I do, I try to get a slip on the quieter end of the quieter dock.
I'm lucky in that my home dock is located in a residential area and I own it so if we do spend the night there noise is not a problem.[/QUOTE

In the morning I asked the woman who runs the marina if i could move, and she put me over by the seasonal renters and it worked out great.

I ended up being next to a great guy named Eric whos restoring an older 340 DA. He also helped me trouble shoot an electrical issue, and he even gave me a ride to store to get a new fuse/breaker and put it in the panel.

While the first night sucked, once we got a new slip in the seasonal section of the marina everything turned for the better. We met some great people the kids had an awesome time and memories were made.
Click to expand...
 
Glad you moved to a slip that was better suited to you.
 
Typical Holiday knuckleheads were out in force again.
Spent the day in a local crowded anchorage yesterday. Got there early because it fills up fast. On Memorial Day and Fourth of July you can almost walk across from one raft up to the other.
Dropped the hook in 7' of water, my son rafted the 18' bow rider alongside me, and we were waiting for 2 more boats to join us.
Great spot, safe distance from everyone around us.
A little while later I come out of the cabin to see the 2 old Trojans, center console, and dinghy under my bow. The guy on the Trojan with the Honda Generator is holding them off!
WTF! I quickly assess the situation and surroundings while sprinting to the bow and see that my anchor has held tight.
Mr. Honda explains that they had spent the night there and had 150' of scope out. When the unusually light breeze shifted a bit he swung in to me. I strongly suggested that he may want to pull in some line. Honestly, judging by his demeanor, I think they slept with the Honda Generator running.
A short while later it happened again. Mr. Honda Generator again seemed unfazed. Fortunately the breeze shifted enough that he became another raft ups problem and wound up under their bows a few times.
 
Another fairly new busy weekend ritual that is becoming more prevalent every year:
People running at night in dark narrow channels with their spotlight on and using it as a headlight, and in some cases their colored underwater lights glowing.
When they are coming at you head on they are blinding, but at least you know which way they are heading by the bright light bearing down on you because you can't see their running lights. But it's so bad you can't keep your eyes in that direction. I'm tempted to turn my spotlight on and aim it in their eyes. I resist doing it though because two wrongs don't make it right.
I've even seen a couple of boats in recent years with a set of headlights molded in to the hull on either side of the bow.
The underwater lights often appear to be either green (because of the color of the water around here), or they are red. It gets to be tough to figure out which way they're heading.
I think we are long overdue for mandatory boater education and testing before licensing. It's unrealistic to expect any state to do "on the water" testing, but there should be a lengthy classroom program with a written test at the end.
 
I agree that some form of classroom testing should be mandatory in every state.

It's way too dangerous out there.


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Had great boating this 4th going up to the inner harbor in b'more. Only two issues, first getting stopped by the coast guard for a safety inspection and second avoiding the small sailboats that just seem wander without care as to which direction they are heading and don't even bother making eye contact when they dart right across your bow.
 
We went out last night with another couple on our boat. He's the guy who owns a marina and does all the maintenance on my boat. He asked me what he could bring so I just told him to bring whatever they wanted to drink and a munchie dish. They showed up with a small cooler full of non-alcoholic stuff to drink and several plates of food. I had cooked up some baby back ribs and my wife, being Italian, had a TON of food. All for the four of us.

We made it through most of the ribs, nibbled around the corners of the rest of the stuff and had a great time. After the fireworks were over (GREAT SHOW, BTW) we stayed at anchor for about 45 minutes to let all the crazies race back to the boat launches, then slowly motored back to the marina. Once docked I had a very welcomed cold beer and nibbled on a few more things. We got home around midnight.

A good time was had by all. Happy Birthday America!
 
For some reason this weekend I was a magnet for smaller boats pulling in front of me and then slowing significantly. To the point I needed to take my rig out of gear to avoid running up their backsides. Plenty of room in front of them...both times....

Other than that it was a fantastic weekend in West Michigan. We watched the fireworks from our dinghy this year. It was so nice not having to deal with the boat traffic post-fireworks. That little Zodiac is the best money I've spent in a long time....
 
We enjoy the holidays from the comfort of our shaded patio. We boat when the lake is devoid of boats.
 
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