Retaliation against dumb boaters & fisherman
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Magnolia3
Contributor
My kids grew up in Crystal River Fl... most kids there first 'vehicle' is a boat. Most of the kids If they don't dive, snorkel and fish. Most of the kids have, at one point or another had to avoid being run over. My dtr and her crowd came on a way to not only retaliate but to deal with the issue.. At some point or another most of the offending boats would end up at Pete's Pier. The kids would wait till the boat driver and his buds were inside and then pull along side the boat, one kid would jump in and grab the keys and they would leave. IF caught they would make some comment about the rafting to get to the dock.. still with the keys. The kids would then go find the local marine patrol hand over the keys and make a complaint. Boat owner got a ticket and a lecture. speeding in the no wake zone or manatee zones is good for a ticket and the marine patrol is johnny on the spot on weekends esp.
I didn't know about this until yrs later when my dtr was visiting and we took a boat up to get gas. I am standing on the dock and I heard, " that kid has no.. oh no, I am not going to put up with this". I ignored her walked in to pay for gas. As we were leaving she holds up keys and dangles them. Then she told me what she and her buds used to do. When we got home she walked down the block and handed the keys to the kid's parents.. seems one of the kids in the boat was under ten with no lifejacket. It is a small town and she recognized the boat.
I didn't know about this until yrs later when my dtr was visiting and we took a boat up to get gas. I am standing on the dock and I heard, " that kid has no.. oh no, I am not going to put up with this". I ignored her walked in to pay for gas. As we were leaving she holds up keys and dangles them. Then she told me what she and her buds used to do. When we got home she walked down the block and handed the keys to the kid's parents.. seems one of the kids in the boat was under ten with no lifejacket. It is a small town and she recognized the boat.
I was diving at Catalina Island one day when I heard a boat overhead. I was at seventy feet, the visibility was close to one hundred feet that day and my bubbles were going straight up. The boat stopped right in my bubbles and dropped anchor. If I hadn't been looking up, the anchor would have hit me. I jammed the anchor as far into the rocks as I could and continued my dive. I thought later that I should have gone over and offered to dive down and free their anchor for a small fee.
Another time my ex-wife and I were trying to enter the water at Marineland. Two fishermen kept casting their lines right in front of our path. My ex asked them if they could wait until we were safely out of their way before casting again. They agreed, but as soon as we were in the water they continued casting over our heads. We dropped down and found the head of a halibut being consumed by snails. My ex grabbed the fish head, stuck it on one of the hooks and began yanking. When we got out of the water we asked the fishermen if they saw the big shark that ate the rest of the halibut they caught.
Another time my ex-wife and I were trying to enter the water at Marineland. Two fishermen kept casting their lines right in front of our path. My ex asked them if they could wait until we were safely out of their way before casting again. They agreed, but as soon as we were in the water they continued casting over our heads. We dropped down and found the head of a halibut being consumed by snails. My ex grabbed the fish head, stuck it on one of the hooks and began yanking. When we got out of the water we asked the fishermen if they saw the big shark that ate the rest of the halibut they caught.
Rich Keller
Contributor
I had a boat go right over my dive flag in a cove I was diving in and staying in that night. The people on my boat tried to wave him off but he keep on going. When I got topside I tried to talk to him and he was not having any of that, he was the CAPTAIN and knew what he was doing! That night I snorkeled over with a good length of chain, wrapped it around his prop then to the strut supporting his shaft. In the morning I watched as he started his engine, pulled anchor and put the engine in gear thinking he was going to drive away. I heard language that I had never heard before coming from him. I pulled anchor and went out of the cove past him as he slowly drifted to the shore.
We have a problem with fishermen stealing the mooring buoys from dive sites on the east coast of UAE.
I managed to retrieve one from their fishing trap that we had used and clearly marked, they had not bothered to disguise it, so their loss. We did go down and open the trap to make sure no fish died in it.
I managed to retrieve one from their fishing trap that we had used and clearly marked, they had not bothered to disguise it, so their loss. We did go down and open the trap to make sure no fish died in it.
OP
Very interesting stories so far. Some real ingenuity.
bleeb
Contributor
Continuing my campaign for all divers to have 10' of 1/2" yellow floating polypropylene line attached to their flags. For divers on the surface, it's a convenient tag line for your buddy to hold on to. For boats, it's an entanglement hazard for their props. Just make sure you don't tie it directly to your float, but rather use a length of twine or something that has a chance of breaking off and releasing the float when the poly gets wrapped up in an ill-mannered boat. 
Bleach bottles also make nice floats, since they tend to scare boats away.
Bleach bottles also make nice floats, since they tend to scare boats away.
Guba
Contributor
My favorite dive flag float.
Peter_C
Contributor
Not dive related, but in California and many other states when water skiing, wakeboarding, tubing, etc. if you have a rope or person in the water having a bright orange flag up is the law. That flag is a statement just like a dive flag that says stay away. Let me tell you many a heated argument has been started over how far away a boat should stay. Some folks think it is okay to stay less than 50' away, yet we used up to an 85' rope which can go any direction. One of the local crews had a PWC rider come way to close to their wakeboarder so a few choice words were exchanged. The PWC rider turned, dug his front end in and filled their boat with water with the jet pump. One expensive camera destroyed, and one call to the sheriff, the guy actually wound up getting arrested on multiple charges and taken to jail. They had to sue for damages, but eventually got reimbursement for the camera.
Point being it is not a diver thing, boaters all over are idiots. Alcohol is often involved and the rules are rarely observed. Of course in most states you still do not need a license to operate a boat, so most folks have no formal training on rules and regulations. Yield to the right? What is that?
There is nothing more fun that watching the boat ramp follies on a windy day, let alone a calm day. At one marina they even have bleachers
Point being it is not a diver thing, boaters all over are idiots. Alcohol is often involved and the rules are rarely observed. Of course in most states you still do not need a license to operate a boat, so most folks have no formal training on rules and regulations. Yield to the right? What is that?
There is nothing more fun that watching the boat ramp follies on a windy day, let alone a calm day. At one marina they even have bleachers
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