SnappingTurtle
Lieutenant
- Joined
- May 4, 2008
- Messages
- 1,251
Re: Too Close for Comfort
I boat in a river that is integrated and segregated at the same time.
It is used by racing skulls with less than 2in of freeboard, up to barges and hotel ships several football fields long, and everything in between.
The PWC are limited to a certain section of the river, as are the wakeboarders and skiers.
These two groups along with the sailboats, are the most friendly of them all. We often go to and through these sections just to watch, almost everyone of them will slow down and talk to us, when we are there. We watch out for them when they are in the water, slow down, and they do the same for us. We do take a little water sometimes from the bigger faster wakeboards, but that is OK because they are not doing it on purpose, and it is their section of the river. We just laugh and they wave and say sorry. No problem there.
The PWC always give us room and they don't make wakes.
The speed boats that pass, when one at a time, also never cause problems. Six at a time running full speed together do, but they are just having fun. Can't blame them for that. They generally give us plenty of room, and the inflatable can take some pretty big waves before flipping. We do get wet, but we are the smallest on the river. Don't really get mad about that either.
Commercial, barges, and the Hotel Ships have professional captains and they are the best of them all. No problem there, just have to be aware of their presence. They have little room to maneuver, and it takes them a long time to slow down.
We have the best relationship with the wakeboarders and the sailboats. We see them out when the weather is nasty, they are the hardcores, and after a summer of nasty weather, we all know who is who. Rain or shine. We always stop, as do they, to ***** about the weather, and then have a good laugh about us all being crazy nuts for being out in it.
The problem boats all seem to come from one place, downtown Frankfurt. Big new cruisers & large speedboats, they seem to think they own the river. It seems to be a sport for them, to clear the river of everyone, less than them. We went this summer, occasionally to some of their regattas. We were invited through my business connections here.
To here them talk when among themselves, was enough to make you want to puke. What a bunch of arrogant, ignorant, group of *$$****$.
It would be easy for us to belong to this group (even without the proper boat), and they seemed to be upset that I said I didn't want to join. They acted like I insulted them for not jumping at the chance, to join their little elite snobby group.
These aren't the young that are doing this here, they are few and far between, generally very friendly, and worried about doing something wrong.
It is also not the seasoned, they are great, lots of experience, and always ready to help.
It is the middle aged, new to boating business professionals from the city center. They seem to believe, that like the rest of the world, the river belongs to them. They join their little yacht clubs, drink too much, and spend hours cussing everyone that earns less than them. Then they go out & swamp boats, only to laugh and tell stories about it latter. I heard an ear full.
I just told a neighbor two weeks ago to go **** himself. I would not ever get on a boat with him again. He cut between a downed skier, and their boat, at WOT. The skier was a young girl, about 12. He thought it was funny.
He thought he was the new “King of the River”. I told him he was the “Scum of the Earth”. He didn't take it very well. I told the other boater, if he needed a witness, to come to where we launch, and I would be happy to be one.
My girlfriend laughed at our nieghbor on the way back to our boat, and said he must have a very tiny, short one, and that if he thought his new boat somehow made it longer, he is very wrong. His girlfriend (I can only describe her as looking like a ugly horse) didn't think it was funny, but she also didn't say a word.
Now we don't talk anymore. He is avoiding us.
Jerks!
I boat in a river that is integrated and segregated at the same time.
It is used by racing skulls with less than 2in of freeboard, up to barges and hotel ships several football fields long, and everything in between.
The PWC are limited to a certain section of the river, as are the wakeboarders and skiers.
These two groups along with the sailboats, are the most friendly of them all. We often go to and through these sections just to watch, almost everyone of them will slow down and talk to us, when we are there. We watch out for them when they are in the water, slow down, and they do the same for us. We do take a little water sometimes from the bigger faster wakeboards, but that is OK because they are not doing it on purpose, and it is their section of the river. We just laugh and they wave and say sorry. No problem there.
The PWC always give us room and they don't make wakes.
The speed boats that pass, when one at a time, also never cause problems. Six at a time running full speed together do, but they are just having fun. Can't blame them for that. They generally give us plenty of room, and the inflatable can take some pretty big waves before flipping. We do get wet, but we are the smallest on the river. Don't really get mad about that either.
Commercial, barges, and the Hotel Ships have professional captains and they are the best of them all. No problem there, just have to be aware of their presence. They have little room to maneuver, and it takes them a long time to slow down.
We have the best relationship with the wakeboarders and the sailboats. We see them out when the weather is nasty, they are the hardcores, and after a summer of nasty weather, we all know who is who. Rain or shine. We always stop, as do they, to ***** about the weather, and then have a good laugh about us all being crazy nuts for being out in it.
The problem boats all seem to come from one place, downtown Frankfurt. Big new cruisers & large speedboats, they seem to think they own the river. It seems to be a sport for them, to clear the river of everyone, less than them. We went this summer, occasionally to some of their regattas. We were invited through my business connections here.
To here them talk when among themselves, was enough to make you want to puke. What a bunch of arrogant, ignorant, group of *$$****$.
It would be easy for us to belong to this group (even without the proper boat), and they seemed to be upset that I said I didn't want to join. They acted like I insulted them for not jumping at the chance, to join their little elite snobby group.
These aren't the young that are doing this here, they are few and far between, generally very friendly, and worried about doing something wrong.
It is also not the seasoned, they are great, lots of experience, and always ready to help.
It is the middle aged, new to boating business professionals from the city center. They seem to believe, that like the rest of the world, the river belongs to them. They join their little yacht clubs, drink too much, and spend hours cussing everyone that earns less than them. Then they go out & swamp boats, only to laugh and tell stories about it latter. I heard an ear full.
I just told a neighbor two weeks ago to go **** himself. I would not ever get on a boat with him again. He cut between a downed skier, and their boat, at WOT. The skier was a young girl, about 12. He thought it was funny.
He thought he was the new “King of the River”. I told him he was the “Scum of the Earth”. He didn't take it very well. I told the other boater, if he needed a witness, to come to where we launch, and I would be happy to be one.
My girlfriend laughed at our nieghbor on the way back to our boat, and said he must have a very tiny, short one, and that if he thought his new boat somehow made it longer, he is very wrong. His girlfriend (I can only describe her as looking like a ugly horse) didn't think it was funny, but she also didn't say a word.
Now we don't talk anymore. He is avoiding us.
Jerks!
