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Wakesurfing - Roosted by the Ranger


chathamsolutions

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We were stopped this weekend for the same thing, had to ask the officer to hold my beer while I got out my book of boating laws to prove him wrong...man it sure is hard to walk a straight line in rough waters... Surprised.gif

Seriously they are there for the safety of all, we were on a VERY busy lake for the weekend and I for one was glad they were there. We were in a busy area, another Malibu had a wake boarder in the water, I slowed down to wait for them, they waived me around, as I eased around about 80ft. away from them a little over idle speed, a 27ft. sea-ray went between us at what seemed like 40 plus mph, how come the patrol never seem to be around when you need them to be... Mad.gif

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I'd probably play that scene just like Andy Innocent.gif (BUT I'd be thinking like CRMNGRN_... Tongue.gif )

I think I'm gonna print a copy of the bill Stu refrenced and keep it in the boat. Also if anyone else has any text that would help the cause we all could benifit from it. I live nothing more than to out wit people who are "supposed" to know more than 'lil'ol me. Tongue.gif

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You have to keep in mind that the Ranger is not trying to ruin your day - just the opposite - he wants to keep people safe. 

We as a group are safe, experienced, knowledgable boaters. Unfortunately, we know the wallies often out number us.  The water police want to keep the wallies from hurting themselves, or us.

That being said, continue to wakesurf. If you do get stopped, respectfully explain that you have thoroughly researched the laws and do not believe you are in violation.  If that particular water cop has a different opinion, let it go. His only motivation is safety.

I agree. The rangers are often the first responders to the accidents that do occur on our lakes. As I told my brother who bitched about being stopped by the ranger because he was laying on the engine cover while at speed(see more below), the ranger is the one pulling the dead bodies from the lake. If he can prevent an injury or death on the lake, more power to him. It's easy to place blame on an aggressive ranger or officer of the law, but show some empathy for the people they get to deal with everyday, all day. You know the ones...driving at speed in the no wake zone, riding lake lice drunk with their 5 yr old nephew on the back without a life jacket on, driving the bu without a lanyard, etc...

I'm glad the ranger didn't write you a ticket. I'd like to think that after stopping to talk to you, he realized that you had your act together. I hope he was thinking about your safety and the safety of those around you.

One last thought...holiday weekends traditionally are more prone to accidents due in part by the number of people on the lake. That being said, I'm sure the rangers were on high alert for "risky" behavior. At a distance, surfing with a boat load of kids appears risky. Is it an adult or kid surfing? What other risks are being taken on the boat that could result in an accident? It sounds like he checked it out and realized you were being responsible and sent you on your way.

The funniest part of the incident we had a few weeks ago was that my 10 year old son knew the rangers daughter. When he completed his inspection and lectured my brother about riding on the engine cover he asked if we had any questions. I said that my son did. My son then asked "are you Heather's dad?" The ranger just about fell over, he asked us to wait and then proceeded to hand my kids a handful of key chains and whistles. As it turns out, Heather had been to a couple of my son's birthday parties...and the two of them have been friends since the 1st grade.

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spend my time fighting it? 

I was hoping someone would be able to tell me specifically where to look.  And since the regs were recently changed for wakesurfing, I was hoping someone would have this info as well.

There's only one person that can do that and he's not here.

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Last summer we were making a spine to surf between our LSV and My neighbor's Trojan.

My son was driving the LSV and got stopped by the sheriff.

He wrote him a ticket for a PWC driving too close to a boat.

No amount of arguement would deter his interpretation of a PWC.

Apparently there's no specific law that says 2 boats can't be underway side by side - we were about 50ft apart.

That was last July and court date is this month - so much for speedy justice.

Gonna take a pic of the 23ft V-drive PWC with 13 aboard to the judge and see how they interpret PWC.

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Last summer we were making a spine to surf between our LSV and My neighbor's Trojan.

My son was driving the LSV and got stopped by the sheriff.

He wrote him a ticket for a PWC driving too close to a boat.

No amount of arguement would deter his interpretation of a PWC.

Apparently there's no specific law that says 2 boats can't be underway side by side - we were about 50ft apart.

That was last July and court date is this month - so much for speedy justice.

Gonna take a pic of the 23ft V-drive PWC with 13 aboard to the judge and see how they interpret PWC.

Make sure all 13 are wearing a PFD in the pic...

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To chathamsolutions: Lots of good reading here. Both sides. I debated even adding this comment to the thread... but as a dad, thought I would.

In your first post, you indicated you eventually continued surfing with the rope with your boy until the officer left..... then once he left, you went ropeless again. Scary lesson your boy may have learned. Namely, things are ok if you believe them to be ok.... even if the cops think your not... just don't get caught.

Tough one to explain to a kid when he uses the same logic later and says "... but dad, this is just like that time in the boat". You say "That's different". And he says "No it's not". Ad infinitum.

Tough being a parent.

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To chathamsolutions: Lots of good reading here. Both sides. I debated even adding this comment to the thread... but as a dad, thought I would.

In your first post, you indicated you eventually continued surfing with the rope with your boy until the officer left..... then once he left, you went ropeless again. Scary lesson your boy may have learned. Namely, things are ok if you believe them to be ok.... even if the cops think your not... just don't get caught.

Tough one to explain to a kid when he uses the same logic later and says "... but dad, this is just like that time in the boat". You say "That's different". And he says "No it's not". Ad infinitum.

Tough being a parent.

My 9 year old asked me just that when I got back in the boat, "Why did you drop the rope when the officer was out of sight."

I already know I'm a crappy parent - thanks for reminding me Doug Cry.gif

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I already know I'm a crappy parent - thanks for reminding me Doug  Cry.gif

...go easy on yourself... being a "Jerk" does not necessarily make you a bad parent.... Biggrin.gif

Tongue.gif

BTW: I wish I had a dad like you that would buy a bada$$ boat (even if it is the wrong color red Tongue.gif ) and share it with the kidees. :)

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I already know I'm a crappy parent - thanks for reminding me Doug  Cry.gif

...go easy on yourself... being a "Jerk" does not necessarily make you a bad parent.... Biggrin.gif

Tongue.gif

BTW: I wish I had a dad like you that would buy a bada$$ boat (even if it is the wrong color red Tongue.gif ) and share it with the kidees. :)

Ditto all of that. FWIW Andy, we would have probably done the same thing in your shoes (;)), & my 10 year old would have asked the very same question.

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...except after the ranger (would have) left, my 2-1/2 yr old would have said "Daddy, don't say F_____n' and A_sh__le, those are BAD words. You godda have a time-out!!!" And I'd do my best not to laugh my a$$ off......

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Andy, we're dads, I believe that we are jerks by definition, or at least that's the point of view of my 13 yo.

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...except after the ranger (would have) left, my 2-1/2 yr old would have said "Daddy, don't say F_____n' and A_sh__le, those are BAD words. You godda have a time-out!!!" And I'd do my best not to laugh my a$$ off......

LOL, guilty of that myself on occasion. :blush:

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Thats funny, cuz my nephews would have asked the same thing of me (naturally I would have dropped the rope as well). I would have simply responded, what your dad have done? Since he is a SMPD and would have done the same :lol:

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...except after the ranger (would have) left, my 2-1/2 yr old would have said "Daddy, don't say F_____n' and A_sh__le, those are BAD words. You godda have a time-out!!!" And I'd do my best not to laugh my a$$ off......

ROFL.gif

Fortunately I kept my cool and didn't go that route. Now if I would have gotten a ticket...

Thanks guys.

Crazy though how your kids are sure to help point out your best. ;)

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Was this at anderson? I am heading there tomorrow, ill see if we get any attention for wakesurfing. Last time the sherrif left as soon as I started to ride.

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To chathamsolutions: Lots of good reading here. Both sides. I debated even adding this comment to the thread... but as a dad, thought I would.

In your first post, you indicated you eventually continued surfing with the rope with your boy until the officer left..... then once he left, you went ropeless again. Scary lesson your boy may have learned. Namely, things are ok if you believe them to be ok.... even if the cops think your not... just don't get caught.

Tough one to explain to a kid when he uses the same logic later and says "... but dad, this is just like that time in the boat". You say "That's different". And he says "No it's not". Ad infinitum.

Tough being a parent.

My 9 year old asked me just that when I got back in the boat, "Why did you drop the rope when the officer was out of sight."

I already know I'm a crappy parent - thanks for reminding me Doug Cry.gif

To chatam: My apology for sounding so rightious. Wasn't my intent. Doesn't make you a bad dad.... as others have mentioned, doing these fun things with your family is what builds strong bonds that last forever. From my own (I keep learning the hard way) experience as a dad, kids are so impressionable.... and their parents are often seen as always right... the examples we set sink in real deep. It then becomes so hard when they use it back on us. It's not just dropping the rope... it can include burping or releasing gas at the wrong time, using foul language, copying a music CD, stretching the truth at the border when you're returning home with good purchased over the limit, smoking, etc etc etc.

A few years ago, my little kids (who always wear their life jackets), asked why my wife and I didn't wear ours. I explained that I was a good swimmer etc etc etc. My daughter then described a safety commercial she had seen on TV where a dad had been thrown out of a boat, hit his head, drowned.... and the little girl in the commercial was floating safely with her life jacket on, waiting for help, but calling out for her dad. Very sad, but effective commercial. My daughter said she didn't want that to happen to me, or her. An example of where I was saying "do what I say, not what I do". It's why I bought my wife and I the CO2 Air Force fanny pack life jackets. No confusion now.

Hard to get around "Do what I say, not what I do." And they don't really understand "But this is different."

Having said that, it's probably right to also explain to our kids that we ARE going to do something a little bad, but here's why, and we still would have to suffer the consequences.

Sorry for rambling... I feel bad I sounded the way I did.

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Doug I think you and chatham have the right idea - doing these fun things with our kids builds strong bonds - even if a few things happen that are not our best behavior.

My kids (26&27 now) still come out and "play" with me all the time.

We are the best of friends to the core and I firmly believe its because of all the quality leisure time we've spent together as a family.

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No hard feelings Doug. I knew what you meant, and I believe I know where you're heart is.

Brad, I can't wait until my 5 and 19 month old are 26 and 22 years old. I hope we'll continue to be stuck together doing what we love the most - playing on the Bu and haveing a great time.

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Sorry for rambling... I feel bad I sounded the way I did.

I didn't think you sounded bad. Easy for the above folks to sound glib on a message board--a little different for Andy to consider the example he sets for his family.

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