Boating Safety- the need for speed,

by Dick Werner, ACBS Director
 

Let’s have a race! We have often heard that tempting cry from fellow boat owners following a boat show or a weekend boating event.
 

How tempting it is; after all many of our boats, though many of them are well over 50 years old, were built for speed. In fact, quite a few of the boat shows around the country advertise them as old race boats on display.
 

Our wonderful old boats throw out a spectacular wake; one that is beautiful when watching from afar. When passing a boat and suddenly coming upon the wake or wakes of one or more boats immediately in front of you, these can be dangerous.
 

If you are in the trough you will be O.K. for the moment, but if you are suddenly on the edge and roll up on your chine, you will find yourself in potential trouble. Your rudder is out of the water, and your prop is screaming, and there are several seconds where you are no longer in control of the direction your boat will take. If any of you have been there (I have), it can have an interesting effect on your blood pressure. Most of the time the boat will correct itself, you wipe the sweat off your forehead, listen to your wife tell you she will never ride in the boat with you again, and you will safely make it back to the dock.
 

Unfortunately other things can happen. Your boat can get sucked up into the boat that you are attempting to pass resulting in a near or full-on collision, or it could as easily roll over in the opposite direction and turn over.
 

This is reality. It has happened to boaters in my area. I once took a 180-degree turn and suddenly was looking front-on at the boat coming up from behind.
 

Our pleasure crafts are not 3-point racing hydros that create very little wake, allowing them to run close together without colliding or flipping over – most of the time.
 

Competitive racing with our crafts can be dangerous, but I know it is not going to stop. Anytime you have more than two boats getting together and the water is fairly smooth, the urge will be there.
 

If you are going to do it (the challenge is too great to resist) then start out and keep a safe distance between boats – at least 30 to 40 feet. Do not swerve in next to the adjacent boat or you may suddenly end up a lot closer than you anticipated. Or could roll over and have the boat that’s coming up from behind as an unwanted guest on top of yours.
 

If you are going to race, use your head and keep a safe distance from the closest competing boats.