Speed boat thru the Diver Below buoys today!

[koozemani]

As I have always called it, "Lake Unpleasant."

Dove there once, never again. There is a great little Italian restaurant nearby that I'll miss though.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Had a similar issue here at a popular training site ... even got the perp on video literally running over a dive buoy. Called Seattle Harbor Patrol and offered to show them the video, since it clearly ID's the boat. The guy asked me if anybody was hurt. I said no, but there was a class underneath the buoy at the time. He said call him back if somebody gets hit and hung up the phone.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[SeaHorse81]

Your story really discourages me, Bob. You'd think that LEOs would be the first to understand that even if you don't value the safety of divers in this instance, you've got someone who has plainly flouted a safety regulation. If he's willing to endanger divers in this setting, he's more likely than the average person to endanger other people in other settings as well. You don't have to care a whit about divers to have high interest in correcting such a person.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Lately here in the Keys boaters are mistaking dive flags for checkered flags

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I say keep reporting the offenders to the appropriate authorities and on places like this site, and report it to local media to, along with the boat registration number if you get it. Whether there is a response or not, creating an awareness and getting some publicity might cause at least a few people to learn the law and then maybe even comply with it! The self help suggestions are tempting , but most diver vs boat encounters favor the boat.
DivemasterDennis

 

[captain]

In a lot of cases dive buoys and flags are a boat magnet. Either the boater doesn't care or know what it is or is curious as to what it is. I hate them, buoys that is, I feel safer without one than with one.

 

[Searcaigh]

In Saudi if you use and SMB or marker buoy, the locals on Jetskis use it as an object to practice turns.

 

[boulderjohn]

Once while we were conducting a class in Carter Lake in Colorado, we had an interesting version of this experience. There is a clearly marked area that can only be used for diving and fishing from shore. No boats allowed at all. Dive flags are required, and we were using several. There were a couple of classes in the area doing the same thing.

A family was fishing from shore, and apparently a ranger was suspicious that they might be doing so without fishing licenses. To make sure they could not see him coming in time to get away, he powered his boat to top speed and drove through the diving area and the dive flags to get to the shore quickly to check their licenses.

We didn't say anything. You do not want to rile the rangers at Carter Lake. They have the power to make your life miserable. We solved the problem by going elsewhere for our classes.

 

[SeaHorse81]

I think reporting incidents is a good idea, along with documenting each report for your own records. Record who you spoke to, date and time, along with the incident reported and any response made. At some point, you may have enough reports of inaction to make a case for how bad it's going to look in the news when somebody gets hurt, and there will be all this documentation of negligence by the relevant authorities.

 

[Bob DBF]

Had a similar issue here at a popular training site ... even got the perp on video literally running over a dive buoy. Called Seattle Harbor Patrol and offered to show them the video, since it clearly ID's the boat. The guy asked me if anybody was hurt. I said no, but there was a class underneath the buoy at the time. He said call him back if somebody gets hit and hung up the phone.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

You should find out if one of the TV reporters in the area is a diver, a little publicity might change the attitude of inforcement in the area.

I'm lucky, the area of the lake I like to use is a no wake zone. I mostly use it in winter 'cause the yahoos are only out in the summer when the ocean is better anyway, and the Lake LEOs hate moron boat operators worse than I.



Bob
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I may be old, but I’m not dead yet.