Why New Jersey "boaters" SUCK.

[Skunk City]

Please excuse the rant, but this incident really pissed me off and ruined a great night out on the water for me.

Last night, a female friend and I decided to do a short kayak paddle trip from Two Bridges to Suchorsky Park in Little Falls. As it was my friend's 2nd time in a kayak, I chose this area because it is low and slow and boat "traffic" is usually limited to some paddlers, a jon boat with an electric and the occasional 9.9'er. I am always on my toes out on the water, but this is a section of river I don't usually worry about getting run over. Last night was a bit different.

Around 6:45-7:00 last night, we were paddling towards our destination when a side-console boat with 3 men in it came ripping up the river. I gave my friend a heads up and had her move between the shore and myself. At this point we were no more than 10-15ft off the shoreline, by no means in the center of the river. As this boat gets closer, I realize that the bow of his boat is aimed right at us. Not trying to end up in the water with an inexperienced kayaker, or even knowing if this guy or his passengers saw us, I put both arms up in the air and gave a very loud "YOOOO!!!". They must have heard me, because they altered their direction slightly. In the 15 seconds after this, these drunken, white trash LOSERS felt the need to get closer to us and hammer down the throttle. I gave a polite but stern "slow it down" hand signal with both hands, hoping for some BOATER ETIQUETTE, but these idiots began yelling, cursing, flipping us the middle finger and waking the sh*t out of us before continuing on their merry way.

Being as experienced as I am in the kayak on some of the busier lakes, I have dealt with the wake of a 25+hp motor in close proximity to me. Obviously my female friend has not, which is immediately where my concern went. I yelled to her to plant her feet properly, center her weight and hold on. She handled it like a champ luckily. After this, you could imagine my blood was boiling. We didn't see these idiots again for the rest of the night. Picking fight from my kayak with 3 men in a boat would not have been a smart decision.

Do people really not understand what it means to be courteous to other boaters, especially those in smaller crafts? This river is not wide, so paddling away is not an option. A 25+hp boat makes a great deal of wake, especially when the throttle is down. Besides the fact, was it necessary to throttle down, veer closer to us, and curse us out and flip us off? Every time (weekly) I am out on the water controlling the motor of my best friend's 14' 9.9hp V-Hull, I will slow down for fellow boaters, kayakers, canoes, and even guys fishing from shore with their kids. Getting tossed around is not fun nor is it comforting.

Being on the river as much as I am, I am pretty sure I have seen these low-class morons on their drunken river travels. They were probably between the ages of 40-50. I'd love to get the hull ID and call it in to the authorities. There are other things I'd love to do, but this is an internet forum and I do not come from the low class gutter these jerks did. This river is just as much mine as it is anyone else's. Just doesn't surprise me one bit how belligerent and inconsiderate people can be in this state. End rant.

[Michael82929]

People really are clueless... not to mention.. last thing you want to do is take a dunk in the passaic...

Your nuts may be glowing in 10 - 12 hrs..

I see it all the time on the lake I fish... I am very suprised their are not more boater accidents... and we have strict rules on our lake... can only imagine a lawless body of water.

[Fish n Jeep]

Sorry to hear that, Skunk. Those idiots should know better. In order to be operating a boat of that power on non-tidal waters they would require a boat license. In order to get a boat license, they also need the boat safety certificate. The certificate is only granted after taking an approved class and passing an exam. The safety and navigation lessons in the class I took were very helpful. You should call the police if you can get the hull registration number, as it sounds like these yahoos were doing everything wrong.

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Licenses/Motorboat.htm
http://www.state.nj.us/njsp/info/pdf...nse-021606.pdf

[acabtp]

yeah, people suck. when i was out on the shed this past weekend, i watched 3 guys block the boat ramp for 15-20 minutes while they loaded their boat up (thankfully i had already launched). then, an hour or two later while i am trolling a straight line out in the middle of the lake i see these same jokers heading in my direction. they get closer and closer on an approximately parallel course and then suddenly pull a hard turn and cut across my path about two boat lengths in front of me. i had to change speed and direction to avoid hitting them. then, the clown at the bow has the audacity to ask me how fishing has been. "better, before a couple jerk-offs came across the whole lake to cut me off" i replied, which got me cursed out in russian, told how much they hated america and americans and an offer to kick my ass back in the parking lot. obviously, i had to suggest that if they don't like it here, go home, but unfortunately, i don't think they took me seriously.

[Fish n Jeep]

A-holes are everywhere. When I was living near St Louis, all the rich boaters went to Lake of the Ozarks. People get killed there every year in boating accidents. I never went, it wasn't worth getting run over.

Don't even get me started on the boat ramp etiquette topic... I've been trailering boats since I had my learners permit, and it never ceases to amaze me how completely clueless or discourteous people are.

Hey Skunk, sorry to hear about your incident...I'm surprised I didn't see you as I was at Two Bridges last night but left at 5:30......Yeah people are a$$holes and they do suck......I like your white trash losers saying ,because it's what they are from the way you described them drunk on the water and irresponsible....I would have called the cops,I don't give a sh*t, and reported them had I known for sure they were drunk for sure.....that makes us ALL look bad when something does really happen.......lesson learned....people have no courtesy....they just don't care(not just applied to this situation, in life in general)....we had a situation very similar at Oak Ridge 2 weeks ago ......same type of crap.....A guy sees us fishing and catching fish, creeps right to us within 20 yards!!!!....50 feet away from us!!!!!!!....the lake is 400 acres and you have to fish within 20 yards of us!!!...Who you kidding?....... I say something, and all of a sudden I'm the bad guy?....WTF is that about?....then he apologises 2 hours later when he passed us in another area.... BUT wait, there's ,more.....he makes up a lame-ass excuse that he was trolling for smallmouth for bait for Muskies for Monksville later that evening...What a joker.. go F%ck yourself scumbag.....OMG, if you're gonna admit you did something wrong, just apologize and all's good......................people suck and just don't care...........glad those douchebags didn't cause you or your friend to tip over, that would have really sucked.....Alright, you got me all fired up now....FISH ON(ALWAYS!!)

[Mikeps326]

This is why I'm terrified fishing hopatcong with my 14ft. Some people are beyond idiots. Always when I have my boat and there's people 200 ft away or fishing shoreline I try to slow down so then get minimum wake. I get pissed when I'm ice fishing and someone on a quad drives 3 ft away an makes my tip ups all popup. Bunch of *******s don't respect fisherman.

[FASTEDDIE29]

That's a horrible experience!!! When those boaters crash into a tree they'll know why!!! What goes around comes around!!!

[Bicey]

Boating etiquette is mostly common sense, which a lot of people do not have! I won't even go into a boat ramp rant because its not even worth it. Thank goodness you had enough sense to know that they were gonna do that. I always try to anticipate by expecting people to make the wrong move instead of the right one. Stay safe!

[ScowardNJ]

Sucks that happened to you guys last night Skunk, I'm sure your lady friend witnessed who the real man in the situation was.