I thought Marine Patrol, like regular police, needed reason to stop you, some probable cause. Maybe not. The only time I have been stopped was on Winnisqaum (spelling) and the officer could not have been any nicer. My bow #'s had faded and were difficult to read. That was his reason to stop me, everything else was in order. My experience with law enforcement has been mixed, there are a few that have caused a bad attitude with some people. There are laws that make no sense that they are expected to enforce. For example, My 10 yr old niece can operate my 20ft 150hp motor boat under my supervision, but my 56 yr old wife ( who has the physical ability to do so and can also see over the windshield) can not. I know sometimes it's the wording and nobody noticed but, in cases like that common sense should prevail and with some LE it simply does not. Now if the guy that stopped me took my fire extingusher and shook it and the indicator needle fell off the shaft because it was corroded, should I get a ticket? The MP that taught the class when I took my boater safety told us he will right you up for this. There are situations where nobody was placed in harms way but, bang, ticket anyway. That kind of crap does not help peoples attitude about them. What we should be doing is all working together to make it a safe activity, and sometimes that means educating people, a needles citation could do more harm than good. Hat's off to the Fish and Game guys at the Laconia and Alton launches, really nice bunch of guys. Doesn't look like LE work to me but they don't seem to mind and they are very helplful like friends should be. Great job guys!
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