Which jetski

[Hard-Drive]

Turquoise said:

Hard-Drive said:

Turquoise said:

You don't know what you're talking about.

I keep 2 jet skis at my villa in Portugal. Exploring the coast with friends, searching caves, grottos and finding secluded beaches inaccessible from the land, is a great way to spend the day.

If your mentality point was valid, why do people do lap after lap of the same circuit on a track day, when according to you such things cease to be fun after 5 minutes...

Huge difference IMHO. If you had a fast car, a mountain bike, a sports motor bike and a massive car park, you'd get bored after 10 minutes. On a twisty B road, circuit, or piece of singletrack, you'd have fun for years. I had a go on a jetski once and was soon bored. "Oooo...I'll go this way. Now that way. Now I'll go round in circles. Big circles. Small circles. And now this way...oh sod this, I think I'll just go for a pint..."

That doesn't make any sense (and who is talking about car parks anyway?)

On a circuit you are constrained by the path of the tarmac. There's nowhere else to go. Yet apparently you'd have years of fun.

On a jet ski on the coast, the world is your oyster, you can explore and go wherever you want, yet you'd be bored.

And the best bit of your post?

"I went on a jet ski ONCE"

Enough said.

You miss my point entirely. A twisty road in a car, or a tight piece of singletrack on a mountain bike, or a track day in a sports car gives you a course to go around...can I time my braking and gearchanges to get round this on the limits of adhesion as fast as possible and onto the next one, hopefully without spinning or coming off? That's kinda the thrill of driving which I take it you understand if you are a PHer. Put that same car in an infinitesimally large car park and it loses it's appeal. Geddit? I appreciate waves might add another dimension, and I totally get the point of using it as a means to explore the coast, but in fairness I'd rather do that in a RIB anyway.

I'm not belittling anyone's hobby...in fact I watched some big jetski racing event in Cardiff last year and thought that looked a bit of a laugh. I'm just saying just blatting about ain't really for me.

And the sad truth from my own observations is that there are a lot of irresponsible, antisocial jetski owners out there. They are fecking annoying when all you want is a chilled out afternoon on the water or at anchor and a bunch of them turn up sounding like a bunch of demented wasps. But as with any hobby and groups of water users, it's probably some idiots ruining it for the rest. In fact, the last time I was anchored in Studland bay, a bunch of skis came through all the moored boats pretty much on tickover and pretty much every WAFI/yotty/stinkie gave them a wave to thank them for being considerate.

[JuniorD]

Turquoise said:

Fair enough. I honestly think if you spent a day with me using them like I do, your opinion would soften. But the geography and climate would be a factor in that of course. The Algarve coast has rather more appeal than a flooded gravel pit in the UK.

Thank you, I would be delighted to accept you kind invitation to go Algarve coast exploring via jetski! I have done a touristy sanitised version in a kayak and enjoyed it. I'd say a jetski would add quite a bit to the experience.

[maser_spyder]

This thread reminded me why I don't bother with this forum much any more!

I'm a sailor, yachting for a dozen years or more, but just bought two jet skis for some fun in the south of France this summer. According to this, we technically don't exist, or we hate ourselves, or something equally silly.

I'll agree there's a contingent of jet-skiers that give the rest a bad name, but even on the dedicated forums these guys are sneered at. Like most things, those who are serious about it generally do it properly.

Morons exist everywhere, doing all sorts of sports, so it stands to reason something like jet-skiing is going to draw a few as well. Shame they spoil it for everybody else, but there you go.

[IforB]

There are idiots in Yachts, RIBs, Powerboats and on Jetskis.

Granted it does sometimes appear that in some areas, there are more people on skis giving a bad name to them, but in general, it does appear that the bias against jetskis is purely down to snobbery. It certainly is in my Yachtclub.

One incident with a single idiot on a ski is all that's needed for everyone to tut and make comments on jetskiers, yet far worse behaviour by club members tends to go unremarked.

Live and let live, we all are out there enjoying the water and the type of vehicle we're in or on really doesn't matter.

[mph1977]

IforB said:

There are idiots in Yachts, RIBs, Powerboats and on Jetskis.

Granted it does sometimes appear that in some areas, there are more people on skis giving a bad name to them, but in general, it does appear that the bias against jetskis is purely down to snobbery. It certainly is in my Yachtclub.

One incident with a single idiot on a ski is all that's needed for everyone to tut and make comments on jetskiers, yet far worse behaviour by club members tends to go unremarked.

Live and let live, we all are out there enjoying the water and the type of vehicle we're in or on really doesn't matter.

i would be interested to see what kind of 'behaviour' in operating sailing craft ( whether kiteboard,s windsurfers, dinghy , keelboat or yacht) can be as antisocial as the existence of PWCs ...

[IforB]

mph1977 said:

IforB said:

There are idiots in Yachts, RIBs, Powerboats and on Jetskis.

Granted it does sometimes appear that in some areas, there are more people on skis giving a bad name to them, but in general, it does appear that the bias against jetskis is purely down to snobbery. It certainly is in my Yachtclub.

One incident with a single idiot on a ski is all that's needed for everyone to tut and make comments on jetskiers, yet far worse behaviour by club members tends to go unremarked.

Live and let live, we all are out there enjoying the water and the type of vehicle we're in or on really doesn't matter.

i would be interested to see what kind of 'behaviour' in operating sailing craft ( whether kiteboard,s windsurfers, dinghy , keelboat or yacht) can be as antisocial as the existence of PWCs ...

Have you ever heard the language coming out of some yachts during a race, even with kids on board?

I suspect you already have your mind made up and that to you, jetskis are the devil incarnate, but if you cannot think of ways that any type of water craft can be used in a dangerous, unsafe or simply downright stupid manner, then you aren't thinking very hard and are simply after a fight to try and prove your narrow-minded view.

Here are a few for starters,
1) Damaging other people's yachts by walloping into them during mooring and staying quiet until challenged.
2) Damaging pontoons by poor handling and not saying anything until challenged.
3) Not having a clue about things like colregs and blindly blathering on about "sail having priority over power" despite that being total bunk in most situations.
4) Blindly sailing through startlines even though they know full well it's there and the start sequence has been called.
5) Sailing through a fleet of kids in Oppies and actually hitting some of them and the rescue boats trying to keep them out of harms way, whilst in a 40ft yacht and carrying on regardless.

I can come up with a horde more examples if you wish, every single one being worse than the vast majority of things I see people lose their minds about when a jetskier does something annoying. Most of which comes down to;

1) Having tattoos
2) Not being a member of a Yachtclub
3) Not having red trousers and halitosis
4) Being a bit "common" compared to the those with their noses in the air
5) having a jetski that makes noise and is droning and a bit annoying to listen to

The worst behaviour I see is speeding in the 8kt areas, which is hardly a hanging offence and I defy anyone who owns a RIB to say that they don't regelarly ignore that limit and on very rare occasions I've seen jetskiers roaring around just iff shore, potentially in areas that there could be swimmers. That is bad behaviour, but is very rare as far as I can see and I've certainly seen other jetskiers having a go at people doing that as they know they are under scrutiny.

Most people tend to get wound up simply because they see or hear a jetski. That doesn't mean their annoyance is actually valid.

[R8Steve]

IforB said:

Here are a few for starters,
1) Damaging other people's yachts by walloping into them during mooring and staying quiet until challenged.
2) Damaging pontoons by poor handling and not saying anything until challenged.
3) Not having a clue about things like colregs and blindly blathering on about "sail having priority over power" despite that being total bunk in most situations.
4) Blindly sailing through startlines even though they know full well it's there and the start sequence has been called.
5) Sailing through a fleet of kids in Oppies and actually hitting some of them and the rescue boats trying to keep them out of harms way, whilst in a 40ft yacht and carrying on regardless.

You missed out being drunk the majority of the time

I have a yacht, am certified to RYA yachtmaster coastal and have a jet ski. No idea what that makes me!

No tattoos though.

[thismonkeyhere]

IforB said:

Here are a few for starters,
1) Damaging other people's yachts by walloping into them during mooring and staying quiet until challenged.
2) Damaging pontoons by poor handling and not saying anything until challenged.
3) Not having a clue about things like colregs and blindly blathering on about "sail having priority over power" despite that being total bunk in most situations.
4) Blindly sailing through startlines even though they know full well it's there and the start sequence has been called.
5) Sailing through a fleet of kids in Oppies and actually hitting some of them and the rescue boats trying to keep them out of harms way, whilst in a 40ft yacht and carrying on regardless.

Back in my seafaring days, I used to particularly enjoy the WAFI interpretation of 'power gives way to sail' to mean that you can alter course right under the bows of several thousand tonnes of steel and it's always the other guy's problem.

Also fun was when the wind wasn't quite enough to get them to wherever it was they were desperate to get to, so they'd run their engine(s), fail to show the correct shapes/lights, and still expect everyone to give way.

And then there was the utter plank who, on a lovely day with little swell, and about 20kts of steady south-westerly to play with, called mayday because his engines had failed. In a sailing yacht. 1)Not a mayday; 2)Put your sails up, you tt. Which is similar to what the Coastguard suggested.

I could go on.

(Of course, there are plenty of yachties who know their stuff and behave perfectly, but there are also plenty of tossers - and unfortunately they're the ones that are remembered)

[Vanquish310]

Power v sail
We had just taken delivery of our 55' Swedish built sail boat and on the delivery trip round Britain had tied up in Campbeltown. A 35' yacht came in with a very vocal mixed crew and proceeded to tie up behind us, after bouncing into us twice and t boning the jetty. As we tried to protect our lovely new teak toe rail, the rather gobby bovine shouted ' ooh, worried about our brand new boat are we?' Yes, was my reply.
Then in came a 80' power boat. Here we go I thought. Husband and wife, came alongside,not a word was spoken, engines used minimally, rejected an offer of line handling, tied up, no fuss.. Expertly handled
The herd behind were heard to snort ( blo.dy stink pots!)
I rest my case

[IforB]

R8Steve said:

IforB said:

Here are a few for starters,
1) Damaging other people's yachts by walloping into them during mooring and staying quiet until challenged.
2) Damaging pontoons by poor handling and not saying anything until challenged.
3) Not having a clue about things like colregs and blindly blathering on about "sail having priority over power" despite that being total bunk in most situations.
4) Blindly sailing through startlines even though they know full well it's there and the start sequence has been called.
5) Sailing through a fleet of kids in Oppies and actually hitting some of them and the rescue boats trying to keep them out of harms way, whilst in a 40ft yacht and carrying on regardless.

You missed out being drunk the majority of the time

I have a yacht, am certified to RYA yachtmaster coastal and have a jet ski. No idea what that makes me!

No tattoos though.

Dear god man, owning a yacht and a jetski? How can you look at yourself in the mirror?

As for drinking whilst sailing, I cannot condone such heinous behaviour...

[IforB]

thismonkeyhere said:

Back in my seafaring days, I used to particularly enjoy the WAFI interpretation of 'power gives way to sail' to mean that you can alter course right under the bows of several thousand tonnes of steel and it's always the other guy's problem.

Also fun was when the wind wasn't quite enough to get them to wherever it was they were desperate to get to, so they'd run their engine(s), fail to show the correct shapes/lights, and still expect everyone to give way.

And then there was the utter plank who, on a lovely day with little swell, and about 20kts of steady south-westerly to play with, called mayday because his engines had failed. In a sailing yacht. 1)Not a mayday; 2)Put your sails up, you tt. Which is similar to what the Coastguard suggested.

I could go on.

(Of course, there are plenty of yachties who know their stuff and behave perfectly, but there are also plenty of tossers - and unfortunately they're the ones that are remembered)

Mayday because your donk has failed? Oh very dear. The only time I've been tempted to Mayday is when we ran out of whisky when moored up in an inaccessible place. Fortunately I remembered that we had emergency medicinal rations under a bunk for dire situations like that. The 7 P's paid off that night.

Edited by IforB on Tuesday 26th April 18:57

[Captain Smerc]

stuarthat said:

If you need some advice on what ski to buy ,maybe a demo as such and I can recommend gs jet tech in South Woodford visit the show room and they have been involved in jetskis since the early eighties ,yes they can be a nuisance but so can motor x bikes and quads ,also there are many clubs around where you can use a race circuit practice ect stone water sports ect , I haven't been involved in jetskis for a while as such you was allowed to use the London docks near city airport , as for the noise if you have a slightly modified ski it shouldn't be to loud as most exhausts are below the water
I don't have any "tats"but once mastered they are great fun ,even when I rode back then .??


I've seen that photo before & I've got tats

Edited by stuarthat on Tuesday 19th April 18:36

[thismonkeyhere]

IforB said:

Mayday because your donk has failed? Oh very dear. The only time I've been tempted to Mayday is when we ran out of whisky when moored up in an inaccessible place. Fortunately I remembered that we had emergency medicinal rations under a bunk for dire situations like that. The 7 P's paid off that night.

Now that's a Mayday.

[Jaguar steve]

IforB said:

mph1977 said:

IforB said:

There are idiots in Yachts, RIBs, Powerboats and on Jetskis.

Granted it does sometimes appear that in some areas, there are more people on skis giving a bad name to them, but in general, it does appear that the bias against jetskis is purely down to snobbery. It certainly is in my Yachtclub.

One incident with a single idiot on a ski is all that's needed for everyone to tut and make comments on jetskiers, yet far worse behaviour by club members tends to go unremarked.

Live and let live, we all are out there enjoying the water and the type of vehicle we're in or on really doesn't matter.

i would be interested to see what kind of 'behaviour' in operating sailing craft ( whether kiteboard,s windsurfers, dinghy , keelboat or yacht) can be as antisocial as the existence of PWCs ...

Have you ever heard the language coming out of some yachts during a race, even with kids on board?

I suspect you already have your mind made up and that to you, jetskis are the devil incarnate, but if you cannot think of ways that any type of water craft can be used in a dangerous, unsafe or simply downright stupid manner, then you aren't thinking very hard and are simply after a fight to try and prove your narrow-minded view.

Here are a few for starters,
1) Damaging other people's yachts by walloping into them during mooring and staying quiet until challenged.
2) Damaging pontoons by poor handling and not saying anything until challenged.
3) Not having a clue about things like colregs and blindly blathering on about "sail having priority over power" despite that being total bunk in most situations.
4) Blindly sailing through startlines even though they know full well it's there and the start sequence has been called.
5) Sailing through a fleet of kids in Oppies and actually hitting some of them and the rescue boats trying to keep them out of harms way, whilst in a 40ft yacht and carrying on regardless.

I can come up with a horde more examples if you wish, every single one being worse than the vast majority of things I see people lose their minds about when a jetskier does something annoying. Most of which comes down to;

1) Having tattoos
2) Not being a member of a Yachtclub
3) Not having red trousers and halitosis
4) Being a bit "common" compared to the those with their noses in the air
5) having a jetski that makes noise and is droning and a bit annoying to listen to

The worst behaviour I see is speeding in the 8kt areas, which is hardly a hanging offence and I defy anyone who owns a RIB to say that they don't regelarly ignore that limit and on very rare occasions I've seen jetskiers roaring around just iff shore, potentially in areas that there could be swimmers. That is bad behaviour, but is very rare as far as I can see and I've certainly seen other jetskiers having a go at people doing that as they know they are under scrutiny.

Most people tend to get wound up simply because they see or hear a jetski. That doesn't mean their annoyance is actually valid.

They do get wound up - and often for very good reason. Given the incidences of illegal launching by bolt cropping padlocks for example and the illegal operation of jetskis and resultant summonses to court and negative media reports here in the Essex Badlands I found with just 5 minutes Googling I'm hardly surprised most people despise them.

Just like you I've noticed a quite remarkable improvement in jetskiers behavior whenever a river bailiff or harbourmaster or the Essex Police marine unit is in the area so they obviously know they are being antisocial or operating illegally but they are quite happy to continue doing so as long as there's nobody around to catch them at it. That tells me more about the mindset of people attracted to jetskis than anything else.

Quite apart from the inconsideration of and risk to other people enjoying the water it's highly likely that the increasingly high profile and antisocial behavior of a significant number of jetskiers in my region will be the catalyst for more regulation and restrictions which will affect the entire marine community nationwide. Nobody, either under sail or power wants that. Especially not the jetskiers themselves who would be affected by increased regulation aimed to curtail excesses far more than others and I'm amazed they haven't managed to puzzle that one out for themselves yet.

BTW: Hallitosis is a minor medical issue that is easily addressed. The irresistible compulsion to mindlessly scream up and down the same stretch of water for hours on end pissing everybody else off within a couple of miles radius in the process until either the fuel is exhausted or the motor burns out is almost certainly a physiological one and that of course will be much harder to deal with.

[R8Steve]

Jaguar steve said:

Stuff...

Given how easily you get worked up when you see a mis-spaced number plate it comes as no surprise you get worked up when you see a jet ski though.

[Turquoise]

I thought exactly the same thing!

[Johnniem]

thismonkeyhere said:

Back in my seafaring days, I used to particularly enjoy the WAFI interpretation of 'power gives way to sail' to mean that you can alter course right under the bows of several thousand tonnes of steel and it's always the other guy's problem.

Also fun was when the wind wasn't quite enough to get them to wherever it was they were desperate to get to, so they'd run their engine(s), fail to show the correct shapes/lights, and still expect everyone to give way.

And then there was the utter plank who, on a lovely day with little swell, and about 20kts of steady south-westerly to play with, called mayday because his engines had failed. In a sailing yacht. 1)Not a mayday; 2)Put your sails up, you tt. Which is similar to what the Coastguard suggested.

I could go on.

(Of course, there are plenty of yachties who know their stuff and behave perfectly, but there are also plenty of tossers - and unfortunately they're the ones that are remembered)

Which is exactly why all this sneering from yachties is total nonsense! Until such time as the RYA bend to the idea that ALL boat users should 1) be trained (to a reasonable level) to understand the rules of the water, coastal or otherwise, 2) Have a licence to use a boat (of any type), 3) are fully insured and 4) every boat/ship/yacht/PWC should have a registration number (as is the case in Europe), the sneering and snarling will continue; as will the relatively few kn*bheads that hoon around on the water with no knowledge of its dangers whatsoever. Us car bods all have issues with the fact that someone on a cycle can scratch down the side of our cars, cut us up on the road and all without any semblance of responsibility or even insurance. We are even spending billions on a cycle-superhighway to accommodate these people.

It is the same on the water. Areas to properly use a powerboat or jet ski are extremely limited and thus many users are shoe-horned into a smaller and smaller area. I remember many, many wonderful weekends water skiing on Lake Windermere when I was a nipper. I learned safety and watercraft there and when I got my own very powerful boat, I took my Powerboat 2 licence before it even hit water. Speeding powerboats on lake Windermere? Not any more. The green brigade have put paid to that. People have to go somewhere to let loose, whether it be in a yacht or a jet ski. Why not have the world of boating properly managed. I believe that the RYA don't want us to lose our freedom, being an island nation and all that. It's not loss of freedom, it is common sense.

There are as many kn*bs in yachts as there are in powered craft. I have met many. Much like those who sneer at TVR owners whilst saying..."bet that spends more time in the garage than it does with you driving it mate! HAHAHAHA" Actually it doesn't 'mate'. Enjoy your Mondeo!

As you were.....

[IforB]

Jaguar steve said:

They do get wound up - and often for very good reason. Given the incidences of illegal launching by bolt cropping padlocks for example and the illegal operation of jetskis and resultant summonses to court and negative media reports here in the Essex Badlands I found with just 5 minutes Googling I'm hardly surprised most people despise them.

Just like you I've noticed a quite remarkable improvement in jetskiers behavior whenever a river bailiff or harbourmaster or the Essex Police marine unit is in the area so they obviously know they are being antisocial or operating illegally but they are quite happy to continue doing so as long as there's nobody around to catch them at it. That tells me more about the mindset of people attracted to jetskis than anything else.

Quite apart from the inconsideration of and risk to other people enjoying the water it's highly likely that the increasingly high profile and antisocial behavior of a significant number of jetskiers in my region will be the catalyst for more regulation and restrictions which will affect the entire marine community nationwide. Nobody, either under sail or power wants that. Especially not the jetskiers themselves who would be affected by increased regulation aimed to curtail excesses far more than others and I'm amazed they haven't managed to puzzle that one out for themselves yet.

BTW: Hallitosis is a minor medical issue that is easily addressed. The irresistible compulsion to mindlessly scream up and down the same stretch of water for hours on end pissing everybody else off within a couple of miles radius in the process until either the fuel is exhausted or the motor burns out is almost certainly a physiological one and that of course will be much harder to deal with.

The massive majority of jetskiers don't do things like bolt cropping padlocks to gain access to the water. I also don't know any who would condone that behaviour. Criminal behaviour is exactly that and to try and say that all jetskiers are therefore tarred with that brush is deeply unfair and unrealistic. It'd be like someone being caught with a few tonnes on coke in their bilge and therefore all yacht owners become immediately suspect of being complicit with illegal drug trafficking, which of course is total garbage.

I am also based in Essex, exactly in the area that the articles mention and whilst I can find some people on jetskis aggravating, I also find a lot of people in other types of craft equally if not more annoying.

Regulation is pointless without the ability to enforce it, whilst we do have the Police out there occasionally, it is really quite rare, though I can tell many a tale of very naughty behaviour by people who may be members of yacht clubs being chased by the Police in boats and getting away with it. I won't mention them here, but anti-social behaviour is hardly the reserve of the jetskiers, however it's often put down as high-jinks in that case.

So, whilst jetskis can be annoying to listen to if they drone up and down the shore, that doesn't make them public enemy number 1.

As for halitosis, I find it far more aggravating than any amount of noise from a jetski, in fact it's almost as annoying as having to listen to close minded people who have made up their mind to be set against something because it's the done thing.

People can be aggravating, people can be antisocial, people can need a kick in the pants at times, but that doesn't mean that just because you use a certain type of craft on the water that you are immediately pigeonholed into a category.

The sea is open for everyone to use. No "class" of user has any more right to it than anyone else, something I certainly know that the yachting community could pay attention to a bit more, and I speak as a "yachtie."

[Jaguar steve]

R8Steve said:

Jaguar steve said:

Stuff...

Given how easily you get worked up when you see a mis-spaced number plate it comes as no surprise you get worked up when you see a jet ski though.

Nail - Head.

But of course there's exactly the same underlying fkuc the law and bks to everybody else I'll just do whatever suits me instead attitude demonstrated in both displaying a illegal numberplate and speeding or antisocial use of a jetski.

Come to think of it there's often a remarkably high concentration of Chavplates even for the Badlands, and that really is saying something, in jetski hotspots like Jaywick, Clacton and around the Maldon and Brightlingsea areas on sunny weekends. Coincidence maybe?

[R8Steve]

Jaguar steve said:

R8Steve said:

Jaguar steve said:

Stuff...

Given how easily you get worked up when you see a mis-spaced number plate it comes as no surprise you get worked up when you see a jet ski though.

Nail - Head.

But of course there's exactly the same underlying fkuc the law and bks to everybody else I'll just do whatever suits me instead attitude demonstrated in both displaying a illegal numberplate and speeding or antisocial use of a jetski.

Come to think of it there's often a remarkably high concentration of Chavplates even for the Badlands, and that really is saying something, in jetski hotspots like Jaywick, Clacton and around the Maldon and Brightlingsea areas on sunny weekends. Coincidence maybe?

Hard to say, i've never been to any of those places. I would love to see your face at something like a Khan range rover driving past with a mis-spaced italic font number plate towing a jet ski though.