I just wanted to repost this for ES:
At 50MPH one is travelling at roughly 73.333333333ft/second.
At 40MPH one is travelling at approx 58.66666666667 ft/second.
The faster boat hits you in 2.04 seconds, the slower in 2.56.
I sat on the beach this weekend watching all of the reckless, speeding watercraft zipping across Saunders Bay. I even saw a few GFBL's polluting the environment and eroding the shorelines as they (expensively) got on plane.
With the above sarcasm aside, I also saw kayakers enjoying the lake simultaneously with all of these big "wild west" style bullies. I noticed, that from my chaise lounge I could easily spot kayakers off the shoreline. I could also spot kayakers probably close to 3/4 mile off the shore. Granted, I was not operating a vessel at speeds where my vision becomes all blurry and my better judgement compromised, but I think the point stands.
What I did not see all weekend was a single MP. Very surprising for a busy holiday weekend...It has been mentioned that MP presense makes boaters behave. (this was even listed as a reason to invalidate the speed study) It's possible they were doubled up at a post in the broads testing their radar equipment for 2009.
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