Inlet Accidents? - NJFishing.com Your Best Online Source for Fishing Information in New Jersey

Billfish715 · #1 10-07-2015, 01:01 PM

To the boat operators out there........what kinds of near misses have you had with the new breed of water sportsmen while you were trying to operate your vessel? This recent incident in the M.I. while almost a tragedy, could have been avoided.

The amount of people competing for space on our waterways is becoming more and more dangerous. We almost ran over a kyaker in the fog near the mouth of the inlet. He had no flag and the waves were 4 footers. To say he was invisible is an understatement. The wave runners get right up your propwash or the boat in front of you in the inlet. We almost hit a backseat passenger from a wave runner who fell off in the mouth of the inlet right in front of us on the bottom of the outgoing tide with tightly stacked waves. If you've ever negotiated that inlet on the bottom of the tide with a strong SE wind you can appreciate how dangerous that situation was.

Once you're inside the inlet, and think you're safe, you then come up on the stand up paddle boarders and 'yak renters and even more wave runners. I'm surprised there haven't been more accidents and I'm even more surprised at the absence of the Marine State Police.

Have any of you had any close calls with some of the new recreational morons?

bunker dunker · #2 10-07-2015, 01:11 PM

it not just there its everywhere on the water.its like mixing bikes and cars on the road,sooner or later there is going to be big trouble.to say that we all have the right is ok but ask a 100ft party boat to stop on a dime because you lost a peep on a jet ski,not so much.

RATS · #3 10-07-2015, 01:45 PM

Had a yak dart out in front of me as I was docking, then he stopped in my path when he realized what he did and just stared at me in fear and every time I made a counter move he did the same exact thing. I had to throw it in reverse and rub another boat to avoid the yak.

Fishin Dude · #4 10-07-2015, 03:07 PM

Manasquan River by Treasure Island I had two kids on a tube being towed by their moron parents bounch off of the bow of my boat. I did everything to avoid it but pow, and they went flying. Lucky they were okay.

Then there are the boats drifting the channel that think they have the right of way no matter what your draft is.There are the boaters who need to cut you off or push through from the opposite direction to beat you through the Railroad Bridge, the people who don't care about no wake zones, the list goes on.

Pauls1976 · #5 10-07-2015, 03:15 PM

Railroad bridge in Manasquan has too many close calls to list!

With that said, not all boats handle the same. The people that never look behind drives me nuts. It's great that you are running ok but not all boats idle or handle the same at a designated speed. Following sea, you can't just cut it back in the inlet.

CCMPmonmouth · #6 10-07-2015, 03:56 PM

Sounds like you all should learn how to operate boats safely, I see the way boaters come in the inlet way to fast. you all need to just slow down. And as for the train bridge, inbound traffic doesnt always have right of way. The boats with the tide behind them do. Just because it is not a no wake zone ( Clarks Channel)doesnt mean put the throttle to the pin. Im out on the water in my boat about as much as anybody, never really had a problem with personal watercraft, except be noisy. Most times it is the 30 foot power boats who dont operate safely. BTW all boats are constrained by draft inside the line of demarcation, so your bigger boat doesnt have right of way.