Quote:
Originally Posted by Evenstar
To which I’ll ask: How many close calls have there been on winni? The problem is that no one keeps any record of close calls. I’ve had more than my share on the lake. And I know other paddlers who have had close calls with powerboats on NH lakes.
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What, exactly is a "close call" is it a boat that travels within 149' of your kayak? 120'? 75'? And why aren't/can't these be reported?
Again, without proof (radar, laser) that these boats were going 46mph or faster, you seem to make great case for better enforcement of the 150' rule. The speed limit is not going to solve this.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Evenstar
And how many of those were on winni? Or on a NH lake? And were those victims wearing PFDs and were they wearing appropriate clothing? The thing is that I can protect myself from things like drowning, by being a good swimmer, wearing a PFD and usually going with a friend. And I own and use cold water gear like a wetsuit, a drysuit, and underarmor. What I have no control over are the powerboat operators who travel at speeds that are faster than their ability to see smaller, slower boats. If all powerboat operators had more sense, we wouldn’t need this law.
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You sound like you are very well protected and prepared in case of tipping. Since we're talking about being in an encounter with a high speed motorized vessel travelling at speeds that make the captain inattentive, unable to slow his vessel due to his/her inability to clearly identify your sea kayak and bright paddles in a manner timely enough to change course and avoid a potentially fatal accident - maybe a kayak flag would make a sensible addition to your equipment?
Few members of the forum have posted that their boats are capable of reaching 45mph. Of those, many admit that they reserve pushing their boats to speeds of 45mph in open areas, such as the broads. Let's say 10% of the boats on the lake are going 45mph or higher at any point in time (0.29%, speed survey, blah, blah, blah - we know those numbers are just totally fictional and serve no relevance about speeds on the lake) but applying this logic - it seems like you'd have a better chance of being stuck by lightning, involved in an airplane crash, or winning the lottery (might be a good night to buy a ticket) than having
MULTIPLE incidents with a "Speeding" vessel on the lake. But that is just my opinion (except for the lottery ticket thing - you seem to be able to beat the odds time after time!!!!!).