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(Lake Ouachita Specific)
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| Name: |
Capt M Brooks
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| Subject: |
Paddle Board Requirements
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Date:
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7/13/2012 4:57:34 PM
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UNLESS or UNTIL the commissioner promulgates a regulation or the legislature enacts a law dealing specifically with paddle boards, our position is that it is a vessel and that the following are required:
- A U.S.C.G-approved personal flotation device must be on board for each occupant
- Children under the age of 8 must wear their PFDs at all times when on board
- If the paddle board is operated between sunset and sunrise, a flashlight or lantern must be on board to be presented by the operator in time to prevent a collision with other vessels
We have not had a major law overhaul since 1994, and in 18 years a lot has changed in boating/recreational water use. There are several other fairly new inventions/sports that are going to have to be addressed in the near future, so maybe this subject will be as well. We in the field are recommending it, at least.
For now we are writing warnings to those we find without the required equipment for a first offense.
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| Name: |
Maverick
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| Subject: |
Paddle Board Requirements
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Date:
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7/13/2012 10:27:06 PM
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Thanks Captain Brooks. Think writing a warning rather than ticketing is a great idea. Thanks as usual for your continued service in trying to make lake martin a great lake to enjoy after a long week in the city! !!
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| Name: |
Lifer
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| Subject: |
Question for the Captain
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Date:
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7/14/2012 6:42:13 PM
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I am behind the curve on wake boarding and wake surfing especially, which leads to a question. The other day I saw a wake surfing boat take off with a 'surfer' for the first time. The surfer was actually standing on the swim platform and then stepped onto the board with one foot, balanced, and stepped on with the other foot. I have seen surfers take off with very short ropes before but I had never seen this maneuver before. I also understand that on true inboards like the one I was watching the prop is tucked well up under the boat and not out the back like inboard/outboard boats, but this still seemed like a very dangerous maneuver, but apparently is one of the accepted methods of take off for wake surfing.
My question is how is this different from someone just wanting a thrill and riding on the swim platform?
Maybe this falls under the category of laws that need updating. How can one activity, surfing, and the other, thrill riding, be differentiated? I am just curious as I will never participate in wake surfing, or platform riding for that matter.
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| Name: |
Wakesurfer
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| Subject: |
Question for the Captain
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Date:
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7/16/2012 2:53:24 PM
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You serious? A platform start is pretty straight forward, no real danger other then tearing up your platform or your board. Generally you will be gone from the platform as soon as the wave forms. As you said, the prop is 4 foot under the boat. You would have to dive under the boat that's moving forward and aim for the prop.
WTH is platform riding? Do you mean teak surfing? Teak surfing is a far different activity from wake surfing. The primary danger from teak surfing is carbon monoxide poisoning as your face is directly in the path of the exhaust. When you wake surf, your head is above the boat line. Teak surfing is for those who enjoy sinking beer cans in the lake.
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| Name: |
Wakesurfer
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| Subject: |
Paddle Board Requirements
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Date:
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7/16/2012 3:08:33 PM
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Does this mean we need to get registration stickers for our boards?
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| Name: |
Capt M Brooks
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| Subject: |
Question for the Captain
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Date:
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7/16/2012 6:14:12 PM
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Lifer, we first saw wake surfing on Lake Martin 3 or 4 years ago, and initially our officers were concerned about the safety aspect of it as well. We stopped and talked to several people about the sport and learned a little about it, and frankly, absent a specific statute or regulation aimed at it, could find nothing illegal about it. As of this writing there hasn't been a single reported accident on the lake involving someone who was wake surfing that I can recall.
Wakesurfer below does a good job of explaining some of the differences between it and what's called "teak" surfing or "body" surfing. As he pointed out, carbon monoxide poisoning is the single biggest danger involved in that activity. However, depending on the type of boat used, close proximity to the propellor can also be a danger.
This discussion is a clear illustration of how difficult it can be to make a reckless or careless operation case against an operator. If you took a poll of 10 operators regarding any specific activity, you'd most likely have 10 different opinions. That's why we encourage our officers to educate boaters as much as possible and to make sure they can testify to the activity in question truly being dangerous before citing anyone for reckless or careless operation. I think most of our officers, myself included, use past experiences with accidents and incidents in helping them with their decision to cite someone for those particular charges.
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| Name: |
Capt M Brooks
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| Subject: |
Paddle Board Requirements
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Date:
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7/16/2012 6:15:25 PM
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No, as long as it remains manually propelled.
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| Name: |
Lifer
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| Subject: |
Question for the Captain
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Date:
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7/16/2012 8:51:37 PM
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First of all, thank you for the response and more importantly what you guys do. It must be very difficult to patrol folks' fun. I didn't mean to imply I felt that that wake surfing is dangerous, not even using the take method they use. It actually looks quite fun and I am jealous it didn't come along when I wore a younger mans clothes, or swimsuit, as the case is. I am in no way advocating for any type restriction on wake surfing.
My curiosity arose from knowing that riding on, above, or outside the rails or gunwale of the boat is not only illegal, but also very dangerous. I don't even allow folks to ride on the sundeck of the pontoon because it is over the rail height, although it is well inside the rail system. I have never even heard of 'teak surfing', I was simply asking what if some fool chose to just stand or sit on the swim platform for whatever stupid reason they had in mind. How is that different from using it as a platform to start wake surfing? I realize it is mostly a judgement call on the part of the officer, as most citations are, but was curious as to the MP position on the issue once I saw it.
On the other issue discussed above about buoys, can you or one of your officers, take a look at the area of Manoy Creek discussed in the other thread? It is in the first bend of Manoy, you can't miss it. I nearly had to run over one of those red 'swim buoys' the other day to avoid an incident with two PWC's driven by young teens who cut me off. They are very restrictive, taking over I would guess a third of the water. It is especially restrictive when you know that the point right across from them is very long and shallow. I had to come within five feet or so of that buoy. Had I hit it and ended with rope in the props I would be very upset.
Once again thank you for all you guys do. I wish there were more of you.
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