Name:	sunover473 -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/17/2020 11:27:45 PM

Have y'all seen the video of the guy on the Waverunner harassing the boaters and spraying them.  Marine police is looking to identify him. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1224032077778674/permalink/1467533580095188/ 

Name:	lucky67 -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/18/2020 9:28:06 AM (updated 5/18/2020 9:28:43 AM)

thats what prompted my post of 5/17 about waverunners/

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/18/2020 10:32:54 AM

Have to say in all our years on the lake have never seen a waverunner do that.  Worst we've ever experienced is them jumping waves too close to the wakeboarder/wakesurfer.  But when we ask them to stay a little further back they've always been good about it.  I've had waverunners the whole time we've owned a house and I am on my last one.  Too much liability.  Never had any issues or complaints from my kids but they are all adults now so we've gotten past the worst of it thank goodness.  Hope they find the guy and he suffers the consequences of this very dangerous behavior.  He reminds me of far too many motorcycle operators who put their own lives at risk with very poor decision making.

Name:	slowtimer -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/18/2020 10:52:28 AM

I agree!  This guy guy on the waverunner is a major problem and needs to suffer the legal consequences.  I also have never seen person on a wave runner or any other type of marine vehicle act in this horrible manner.  I have seen road rage incidents similar to this though.  Hopefully he gets caught and suffers the consequences and it is known to the Lake Martin community.  This hopefully will keep others from being this stupid.  

Name:	PTClakefan -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/18/2020 11:06:33 AM

The video reminds me  a bit of the situation that happened a few years ago with the lady who was on her dock being harrassed by a guy on a PWC, who kept circling in front of her dock threatning her for a lengthy period of time.  She filed a complaint and it went to court but the judge (Elmore County, I believe) threw it out explaining that he did not feel that the guy's conduct constituted a criminal offense.  In both of these cases, the person operating the PWC was probably a knucklehead to begin with who likely had consumed too much of the stuff that made Milwaukee famous beforehand.

We have owned a PWC for several years although we rarely use it these days.  They are fun but like any machine they can be dangerous if not operated safely and responsibly.  I must say that most PWC operators here at the lake seem to be safe and respectful, but there always will be that small group that are quite the opposite.  The laws are in place to deal with people like them but they need to be uniformly enforced.  One thing I have observed that seems to be increasing lately is the number of PWC operators who are clearly not 14 years of age, operating the craft either alone or with another "child" who also is clearly not old enough to be a legal operator.  Seems that some parents are either unaware of the minimum age requirement or simply don't care.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Blame the human, not the machine
Date:	5/18/2020 11:17:35 AM

PWC's don't operate themselves.  Stop blaming PWC's for some idiots behavior.  They aren't going away.  I don't enjoy them much anymore but have owned 4 of them back when I did.  

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Blame the human, not the machine
Date:	5/18/2020 12:22:20 PM

Totally agree.  It's like all the times the media reports the some SUV killed someone like it did so on its own.  They do the same thing with guns.

Name:	HARRY -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/18/2020 1:35:14 PM

Gotta wonder why this guy singled out this boat? Granted he was acting a fool although he was posing more risk to himself than anyone else. Sad that the children witnessed this. The guy on the PWC and the language.

Name:	dogleg -	Reply
Subject:	Blame the human, not the machine
Date:	5/18/2020 4:03:55 PM

Y'know this could be taken the wrong way and I don't want it to be so let me say clearly: the guy on the PWC was acting in an indefensible way and I hope he is caught and given the max possible punishment for endangering this family's lives. No one who could or would do anything like this should be on the lake, or anywhere else, like on the road. This looks like, I'm guessing, a lake version of road rage. Here's where I may get misconstrued. This guy was probably hacked off about the wake...I'm guessing he has a dock back in Moon Branch. We are on the other side of Turner Point at just about the point where Turner Slough is wide enough to do figure eights and doughnuts and otherwise have fun in boats pulling folks. We pull folks too. From out there, I know it looks far enough to shore (or maybe some dont care) but from our dock, with the floating parts banging away to the point of damage for hours on end, it doesn't look far enough at all. I have wanted to wave my arms around in apoplexy when someone sits 150' of our dock dragging a series of kids around on inflatables, sacks ful,  in the same spot for long periods of time...but I don't. For me, when I pulls folks, I go to Secret Slough or elsewhere where ther are few to no houses and if I'm in an area with houses I try to move on and not stay in one place. Courtesy. Not trying to tell anyone what to do, just my opinion.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Blame the human, not the machine
Date:	5/18/2020 4:25:45 PM

A little hyperbole there dogleg.  I don't think anyone's life was in danger.  I posted below that we will never know what provoked him into this behavior butr you can bet he has a side to tell also.  And as always the truth lies somwhere in the middle.  Other than the hyperbole I agree with eveything else you said. We are in the 3rd generation of me me me attitudes and it shows no sign of abating.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Blame the human, not the machine
Date:	5/19/2020 8:31:28 AM

Oh I don't take it the wrong way.  Clearly something triggered this guy to behave in such a dangerous and irresponsible way.  And like you, I only wakeboard of wakesurf in areas of Sandy Creek where there are no homes.  Sadly, others are not so responsible.  A better way to handle this, if it did stem from them operating nears docks, would be to calmly go over to the boat, flag them down and express your concerns.  He may have done so and the boaters told him to stuff it.  Only they and the guy on the video know what actually happened.  But nothing justifies what he did.  And if they do catch him he is going to suffer whatever the consequences are.

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/19/2020 8:32:25 AM

No doubt there is way more to the story here and it may be that they all played a part in the event.

Name:	Shortbus -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/19/2020 8:32:57 AM (updated 5/19/2020 8:43:12 AM)

Only at Lake Martin can a bourgeoisie lawyer buy a quarter million dollar boat to make enough waves to damage 10 million worth of proletariat property.

Name:	Buteye -	Reply
Subject:	Blame the human, not the machine
Date:	5/20/2020 2:07:55 AM (updated 5/20/2020 2:14:55 AM)

On your reference to Moonbranch, is that the location where this incident occurred? My lake house is on Moonbranch and I am located close to the end of the slough. The entire slough from where it comes off the main part of the lake to the end of the slough is a "favorite" of wake surfers, wave runners (PWC's), tubers, and the like who seem to think that the people on the shore are their "spectators" and that they are putting on a "show" in much the same way that "race car drivers" thrill their spectators in the stands. They fail to realize thae the people who own homes on the slough are there to enjoy the many "different" forms of fun that are available on the lake. We families have children and grandchildren who enjoy swimming in the water off their dock, and the grandchildren as well as adults enjoy lounging on their "lily pads", paddling their kayaks and paddle boards, etc. It is almost impossible to enjoy these "fun filled activities" when the water front that "homeowners" have paid "dearly" is practically "unusable". It is admirable that both you and Martini find places to enjoy your "wake" boats in areas of the lake where there are no home owners. In my case, there are actually two large sloughs just pass the entry to Moonbranch where they can enjoy their "fun" without upsetting those who live on the lake. It just so happens that Still Waters Condominiums are just straight across the lake from Moonbranch and it seems that Moonbranch is their slough of "choice". At one time Lake Martin was the largest manmade "fresh water" lake in the World. With a 44,000 reservoir and over 750 miles of wooded shoreline, surely there is sufficient water for "wake" boats without resorting to water where there are homeowners, where they can damage privately owned properties and when used in an "unsafe" manner can endanger the "safety" and "lives" of people who are trying to enjoy  the lake.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Last summer there was a rather lengthy discussion on "wake boats" which contained several stories about some of the complaints that were being voiced about the "waves" being generated by this new form of boating. I recall one case where a wave runner was actually "washed" off the lift it was on and came to a landing on the dock. Other cases were mentioned where boats were in the water and tied off to the dock and were "ripped" loose from their mooring.

it is also very irritating if you are just taking a short break from your wave runner(PWC) or whatever "watercraft" you may be using, you must anchor it in such a way that an unsuspecting "wake" will not "slam" it on shore. In many cases that means putting your boat back on the "lift" even if it is only going to be a few minutes before you will be boarding it again. It is also difficult when "friends" show up in their boats to be able to "tie" off without worrying about damage that might occur to their boat or the dock if "without warning" an oversized "wake" appears. I think that "one" thing that people fail to acknowldge about the presence of "wake" boats is not the results of just 'one" boat, but it is the damage that is done over a "long" period of time. The continuing "pounding" of waves will damage any structure. Also, it is not just the long term damage to "property", the "wakes" cause  a "lasting" erosion of the "shoreline".

Name:	realfast64 -	Reply
Subject:	Facebook Lake Martin Boaters Group video
Date:	5/22/2020 7:58:09 AM

  Amen Shortbus!!!!  There is more to this than we have seen!