I'm not sure just how much of our boating laws crossover with the U.S. laws in commonality but I was almost run over by a guy 2 years ago. He was in a huge glass v-hull boat racing up behind me. I was just enough past idle to stay standing and getting close to a yacht club docking zone so I turned outward to stay away, saw him at the last second and blasted the throttle just narrowly escaping him and then falling off...good thing I didn't fall before getting clear of him. I chased him down, watched him shoot past a bunch of swimmers that got caught in his transom wash and he never slowed at all. When I finally caught up to him at the harbor I handed him his ass for being so stupid on the water. He tried to tell me that I, being up front was to be aware of everything around me including making way for whomever is coming from behind...I said "where did you get your boating certification from?! It's clearly printed in the boating regs that if YOU are on a course to overthrow a boat, YOU have to take every possible action to change course and give way to the boat you are overtaking". Then I said "and how fast are you allowed to go within 300 feet of shore? Not full open! 20kms/hr! (~12mph)", I then said "did you even see the swimmers that you washed out in your prop wash??!"
He tried to say I was also at full throttle when I had cut out from the yacht club. I said "I was barely past idle, I know the laws about speed near shore". He tried to say there was no way I could stay standing and be near idle on a standup ski...I said "HOW DO YOU THINK I PULLED INTO THE HARBOR IN A NO WAKE ZONE?!!!" Then all 5 of them had to try and defend him, you could see them tripping over themselves trying to look innocent, one guy piped up and said something about me cutting across their path, I returned with "look at how big this machine is and look at how big your boat is, who is going to hurt who out there?" He had no response. Since then I have not seen them anymore out there and I also called it in to the police saying these people are dangerous on the water and told them the whole deal. Maybe they were seen by the water police doing the same things, either way it's not only the old guys that can be the problem. This was a boat full of mid 20 to mid 30-somethings being morons. Sometimes having the age/life experience pays off because I find now that I am in my 40's, when I know I'm in the right and almost lost my life to stupidity, I won't back down from that fight. They'll keep acting like that until they get put in their place.
I too try to be as respectful to everyone as I can on the water, I stay well more then 300 feet out from shore, always looking for boats and steering clear of them. I encounter windsurfers all the time and we never have issues. I have helped them get back to shore on a couple of occasions when they snap a chute line, one guy lost his board from a fall and I retrieved it. Right at the launch we have a little place that rents canoes, kayaks, and paddle boards, I was talking to him the other day. He has seen me going there for the last 20 years or so and not once has he complained about me because he says that I am always making sure to go slow past his people on the boards and boats, I never make a wake near them and try to keep my exhaust under water while entering and leaving the launch to help stay quiet. I also make it a point to ask him if things are still good, do I need to make any changes in my approaches or voyages out, he always says nope, you're good. So I stay that course because I want to be remembered as that. I'm the only standup rider in this city, I'm a very easy target to be harassed but the respect has built me a reputation that allows me to continue going there and has given me a regular audience too. When my group and I get together or usually it's just me, there seems to always be a bunch of the high zoom tele-photo lenses that come out
I don't mind performing for peeps, as long as they get their money's worth lol.
There was one time though some random tools showed up with crappy, typically not running old Kawi standups. One guy actually had no waterbox. It was a 650 straight piped out the side like how the old 440's were. It was soo loud! I told them straight up I will NOT, ride with you guys or let you ride with my group if that's how you're going to be. People from the apt. building next to the ramp called the police on them for excessive noise, others were complaining that they were tying up the ramp trying to get their crappy skis running. One guy took off to get fuel because they forgot to fill up prior to getting there, he was gone over an hour trying to find the cheapest station possible while leaving their skis blocking half the ramp. They only lasted there for a few hours and never came back. Respect, they didn't have any...especially the guy with the straight piped 650...he put a toddler on the tray standing up with that straight pipe and extended overboard black hose about 2 feet from the kid's face. I couldn't stand it, I had to leave. I think aside from waiting for them to stop blocking the ramp with their dead skis, I was there for only about 30 mins of ride time when they finally got on the water, I had enough and pulled out. They had no respect for everyone around them including themselves. That was the one time I had no qualms with the aged locals complaining about skis at the ramp lol.
