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Anyone have cop trouble while surfing?


triscadek

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Had my first run-in with a State Trooper on the water this Saturday in over 2 years and boy was this guy a piece of work. Bad, demeaning attitude from the word go. It was me and my buddy cruising up the lake to meet the rest of the family, just hit the water, cruising about 22 and he passes us, swings back and stops us for my buddy barely sitting on the sun deck with his feet on the seat and arm around the pylon.

Anyway, he gives us a warning but not after being an absolute (insert favorite word). Had me read aloud to him the lake rules about people riding where they can fall off the boat. In my opinion, unless we took a 12' blind roller, I don't see it happening. Next, he Told my buddy to go grab us two jackets so he flips up the observer seat and grabs them. Not good enough, he then has me read the book again aloud where it says readily accessible--- uh, they are! Underneath an accessible seat with nothing on them... All 9 of them. Next he doesn't like my letters on the side. They're not far enough forward, nobody has said anything yet and we've been on the lake every weekend since May and seen dozens of lake patrol boats. Yup he has me read that out loud too. Lastly, no registration, yeah go me, it was in the safe, brain fart moment. You guessed it, got to read that one too.

Well he cut loose with a warning but not before checking some other small stuff, it just gets to me wondering, if this guy is this picky about small stuff and such an (insert favorite word), what would he say if he caught us in a cove, leaned over to the rub rails with 3,400lbs of surf ballast? Boat is only rated for 1860 on the placard.

Anyone been hassled for too much weight? Usually listing to the left real bad draws attention if someone isn't on the surf board so I could see him rolling up and making contact if he was cruising by

Edited by triscadek
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MalibuNation

We're lucky to have good police on our lake and was talking to them for about a 1/2 an hour at the public access Sunday. Very friendly. I can't tell what state you are in but in MI life jackets have to be "out" and can't be under the seats.

  • Like 2
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You are definitely lucky you didn't get a ticket for the lack of the registration card. I know here in Tennessee the life jackets aren't required to be out while under way. TWRA definitely checks for the normal stuff like throw pillow, enough life jackets for everyone on the boat, and a fire extinguisher. If they see booze on the boat, they will check the registration card and the driver's ID just to get close to see if the driver has been drinking.

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First off, 10-21, as far as putting lives in danger, we were in no way being wreckless nor are we ever. I'm very conscious and careful when it comes to keeping a watchful eye over my crew whether it be in the boat or constantly watching the head count with swimmers in the water. Especially since most of the time kids are on board.

Now Don't get me wrong, I know where my faults were and fully expected a citation for them. And that being the registration and the buddy sitting on the seat. I did it wrong, I'll take the ticket and fully expected one and wouldn't have been mad. However, nobody deserves the attitude or to be treated like a 12 year old. Where I come from, everyone gets treated with courtesy and respect. I know many rangers on the lake that work with this particular trooper including my neighbor and they will all tell you this guy just flat out has an attitude. He got forced on the water and doesn't want to be there. He wants to be a street cop. I am very pro-law enforcement and respect each and every one of them. They're not guaranteed to end their shift.

As soon as I got the boat I went out with a list and made sure I had everything on the boat that I needed and am always conscious of passengers vs life jackets. He was not able to find anything I "lacked" as far as equipment on the boat because I make sure I AM legal. Yeah I forgot the registration at the house, it happens. He can run my tags and see they return to me and are current... the letters not being far enough forward, that's petty, mention it and say fix it. Don't be an @** about it.

The buddy sitting on the seat, had I felt he would have been in danger, I would have made him get down. He was safe. But cool, it's illegal, right the ticket and go.

In our state, as far as life jackets, the law reads "readily accessible". Per a Park Ranger on the same lake, Readily accessible "CAN" be, not "IS", defined as having a life jacket in your hand in less than 5 seconds... Which is all it takes to grab them. My jackets are ALWAYS "readily accessible".

My only issue with the guy was his attitude and they way he talks to people. I'm very familiar with the policeing process (on the good side lol), and this was not cool.

My question in all of this was how many people HAVE been screwed with while surfing and what has happened?

Edited by triscadek
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I've had similar experiences, kind of makes you wonder wtf during and shortly after, then you realize they are doing their jobs and these guys don't see the best of people all the time. But most can be a bit better about it.

Being forced to be water patrol and would prefer assphalt duty? This guy has a wire crossed.

Can't comment on the surfing thing. I've only seen two surf boats while on the water. One was a MC not overly weighted and the other an I/O, yep outdrive surfing. That guy needed pulled over but on that lake as long as you aren't slaloming swimmers, they have better things to do, like pulling over boaters/jetskis that are slaloming swimmers.

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As a former deputy sheriff, I can say that IMO, there was no need for being demeaning. I was taught in the academy that the purpose of traffic stops is to change the violator's behavior. I'd imagine that the same holds true on the water. I am of the opinion that his method of changing your behavior could use a little tweaking. :biggrin:

There's kinda an unwritten rule when it comes to tickets: Either chew them out or write them a ticket, but don't do both.

ETA: Full disclosure - I never worked the water. That's where i spend my weekends.

The unwritten rule is shared here as well. I'll take a chewing all day long in lieu of a ticket, but I won't be talked down to. The only reason I bit my lip was because I knew it would lead to him getting a cramp in his pen hand.

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I've had similar experiences, kind of makes you wonder wtf during and shortly after, then you realize they are doing their jobs and these guys don't see the best of people all the time. But most can be a bit better about it.

Being forced to be water patrol and would prefer assphalt duty? This guy has a wire crossed.

Can't comment on the surfing thing. I've only seen two surf boats while on the water. One was a MC not overly weighted and the other an I/O, yep outdrive surfing. That guy needed pulled over but on that lake as long as you aren't slaloming swimmers, they have better things to do, like pulling over boaters/jetskis that are slaloming swimmers.

Sounds like a safe lake to swim in!

Exactly my thoughts on the wire crossed, I'd take Marine Enforcement every day of the week!

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And as for the readily accessible thing, MN had the same type of wording until recently when they clarified the vagueness of the old law, and sync them up with the federal laws.

(5) for wearable devices, either readily accessible or worn, except when:

(a) devices are required to be worn to be accepted as U.S. Coast Guard-approved; or

(b) wearing a U.S. Coast Guard-approved wearable personal flotation device is

mandatory; and

(6) for throwable devices, immediately available.

Readily accessible means easily retrievable within a reasonable amount of time

in an emergency. Immediately available means easily reached in time of emergency.

Personal flotation devices located in locked containers, under heavy objects, or left in

shipping bags are not considered readily accessible or immediately available.

Edited by oldjeep
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I have several friends who are officers, and I have done ride along a with them several times, and not in the best of areas southern CA has to offer. I have a whole different respect for those guys.

You said you admit you were breaking to law. If you were as conscious about your crew and their safety as you claim , you would have had your buddy fully in the boat to begin with. Let's not forget this was started by your YOUR lack of respect for the law. You saw the officer the first time, and still didn't have your buddy get in the boat, basically saying you will do what you want.

To your main question, I have had a buddy get stopped on a local lake while surfing, with the boat listed pretty hard. They gave them the choice of a ticket or drain some ballast. They said it fell under "unsafe operation" of a vessel. That rule is basically at the discretion of the officer, but if your exceeding ballast restrictions that the manufacturer suggests, they have a case. Same with the life jackets being readily accessible, at the officers discretion.

They hear more crap and excuses from entitled you know what's all day long who try to justify why they are allowed to break whatever law it is they were stopped for. If you had to tell your kid not to climb on the table 100 times a day, your demeanor toward you kid would not be pleasant for the same thing after awhile.

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I've been harassed worse than that by a sheriff at a boat launch before we even attempted to break any laws. Sounds like a pretty benign run-in with the authorities to me!

edit: you learn real fast around here to keep everyone inside the boat if you know cops are around - they will hunt you down like dogs. Learned that lesson at SeaFair years and years ago on a buddy's boat. Always think to yourself "will this give the cop an excuse to harass me" before doing something stupid. :)

Edited by rennis
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I get where triscadek is coming from. If you are missing the demeaning part it is probably because it was the tone the guy was using. Also making someone read every section of a rule book depending on how he did it could be rude. It all depends on if he was trying to be helpful or just a jerk. it's funny how this guy posts about a bad experience he has with an officer and we immediately assume we know more about his interaction that he does and try to disqualify his statements. I used to frequent Lake Lewisville "very dangerous lake in Texas" and all the cops there were total jerks.

The problem is that there are boaters that are irresponsible. The officers have to deal with them and their attitudes everyday. They get jaded and start treating every boater as if they have done something wrong from the jump. Some not all can seem demanding, rude, and get on a power trip. I don't go to that lake much anymore and instead opt for a smaller lake. The patrol there have a totally different outlook and they are really just checking to see if anyone is in danger and then they leave you be. Similarly if you are driving through a small town the police there may be a little more talkative and friendly vs. a big city where the cop is worried about you shooting and killing him. Just my $.02.

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I have several friends who are officers, and I have done ride along a with them several times, and not in the best of areas southern CA has to offer. I have a whole different respect for those guys.

You said you admit you were breaking to law. If you were as conscious about your crew and their safety as you claim , you would have had your buddy fully in the boat to begin with. Let's not forget this was started by your YOUR lack of respect for the law. You saw the officer the first time, and still didn't have your buddy get in the boat, basically saying you will do what you want.

To your main question, I have had a buddy get stopped on a local lake while surfing, with the boat listed pretty hard. They gave them the choice of a ticket or drain some ballast. They said it fell under "unsafe operation" of a vessel. That rule is basically at the discretion of the officer, but if your exceeding ballast restrictions that the manufacturer suggests, they have a case. Same with the life jackets being readily accessible, at the officers discretion.

They hear more crap and excuses from entitled you know what's all day long who try to justify why they are allowed to break whatever law it is they were stopped for. If you had to tell your kid not to climb on the table 100 times a day, your demeanor toward you kid would not be pleasant for the same thing after awhile.

No point in even going down this path. Do you get satisfaction out of just trying to attack someone who posts something you don't agree with. Lack of respect of the law, really what was he doing that was so bad. Your going to compare someone boating and sitting 1/2 way on the sundeck with driving through compton! Jeeze. Wake World is calling they are missing your posts over there.

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5in,

Whether a person in Compton or someone on here who can afford 100k+ for a toy, both will have excuses that fill they are justified in breaking the law, or choosing which laws pertain to them. Whether you feel it was so bad or not, it is still against the law. How many times have we read here of someone intoxicated falls off the transom or step and never comes up? Or not intoxicated and just a fluke?

The op says what (insert your word) the cop was, but he didn't get a citation, I'd say that's pretty cool. Then in his response to 21, he says how safe he is and so forth, never wreck less, etc. He knew the law and allowed his passenger to break it. Period.

I am in no way saying I am without sin, but I don't break the rules then complain about getting caught. I get caught, ok. I got a cell phone ticket a awhile ago, I was on the phone while driving, cop pulled next to me, we looked at each other, and I just pulled over. He walked up to the window, I said my bad and handed him my info. I didn't come onto a forum and complain about it. It's hard enough trying to keep my employees doing things correctly within four walls, let alone society all over the place. For all we know, that may have been the 10th warning for the same issue he gave that day, if so, that would build frustration in my book

Yes, there are some cops who have power trip, but I just think Law enforcement has one hell of a job, and they deserve a little more respect.

Edited by wakebrdr94
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Oh well, I could type a paragraph but not going to.

You weren't there so you don't know the cops attitude, so you are making allot of assumptions.

Also I see people everywhere with people on the sundeck while surfing (underway) and nobody get's pulled over around here for that. You guys act like this guy is an idiot for having someone 1/2 in and out of the boat, I see that happen all the time.

Then you tell him to quit crying. He wasn't crying just posting a bad experience. The whole comments around disobedience and disrespect for the law is just a joke so no point in trying to convince you otherwise.

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The reading aloud stuff was juvenile and uncalled for in my opinion.

You obviously handled that better than I would have.

About 1/3 the way into that stop as you have described it I would have been asking for tickets to be written or for me to be allowed to go on my way....officer's choice.

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The reading aloud stuff was juvenile and uncalled for in my opinion.

You obviously handled that better than I would have.

About 1/3 the way into that stop as you have described it I would have been asking for tickets to be written or for me to be allowed to go on my way....officer's choice.

In washington state he saved $739.... I would of gladly read the laws regardless how condescending the cop was.

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