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NH_boater · 07-28-2014, 08:21 AM

I may take a ding for this, if so, that's OK. I think there are MP Officers out there that occasionally make bad calls.

Overall, I think they do a great job and I am very glad to see them on the lake. Whenever they are around, safe passage seems to magically stretch to 150' or 200'. Headway speed seems to slow and most boaters are generally more careful about changing direction, accelerating nearing other boats.

It is a tough job, I am sure and I believe that they do a great job 98% of the time but they do seem to make some bad calls on occasion. Inconsistency is a bit of a pet peeve for me. It is troubling to sit at WAM sandbar on one day with boats stacked up barely 10’ apart and boats clearly anchored inside the 150’ buoy and MP simply cruise through without incident, only to have them warn and ticket the same violations the following day.

They appear to warn/ticket some boats for night/light violations and not others. They give warning to boats that travel too slow in the channels, which is not a violation of which I am aware, and others too fast. It is difficult to hear of them spending time enforcing some laws having little or nothing to do with safety (NWZ & NRZ) while we see dangerous boaters and jet skiers wreaking havoc somewhere else.

I am sure they ignore some violations, like some brilliant maneuvers in the Weirs channel simply because grabbing the violator is more of a disturbance than the violation itself.

I chalk of many of the bad calls as lack of training, looking somewhere else at the time or simply a human mistake that they probably would not repeat. Just like plumbers and carpenters, it is conceivable that there are bad MP’s out there as well. My guess is they would get weeded out over time.

I thank them for the great work they do (98%) and I am glad they are out there keeping control, maintaining the safely and ready to react in an emergency, day or night. Like our land-based Officers and Fire Fighters, they will place themselves in danger to protect the general public.

07-28-2014, 08:21 AM	#61
NH_boater Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 298 Thanks: 14 Thanked 147 Times in 62 Posts	I may take a ding for this, if so, that's OK. I think there are MP Officers out there that occasionally make bad calls. Overall, I think they do a great job and I am very glad to see them on the lake. Whenever they are around, safe passage seems to magically stretch to 150' or 200'. Headway speed seems to slow and most boaters are generally more careful about changing direction, accelerating nearing other boats. It is a tough job, I am sure and I believe that they do a great job 98% of the time but they do seem to make some bad calls on occasion. Inconsistency is a bit of a pet peeve for me. It is troubling to sit at WAM sandbar on one day with boats stacked up barely 10’ apart and boats clearly anchored inside the 150’ buoy and MP simply cruise through without incident, only to have them warn and ticket the same violations the following day. They appear to warn/ticket some boats for night/light violations and not others. They give warning to boats that travel too slow in the channels, which is not a violation of which I am aware, and others too fast. It is difficult to hear of them spending time enforcing some laws having little or nothing to do with safety (NWZ & NRZ) while we see dangerous boaters and jet skiers wreaking havoc somewhere else. I am sure they ignore some violations, like some brilliant maneuvers in the Weirs channel simply because grabbing the violator is more of a disturbance than the violation itself. I chalk of many of the bad calls as lack of training, looking somewhere else at the time or simply a human mistake that they probably would not repeat. Just like plumbers and carpenters, it is conceivable that there are bad MP’s out there as well. My guess is they would get weeded out over time. I thank them for the great work they do (98%) and I am glad they are out there keeping control, maintaining the safely and ready to react in an emergency, day or night. Like our land-based Officers and Fire Fighters, they will place themselves in danger to protect the general public.