Jet ski alert on Botany Bay

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slalomfreak said..
Alls well that ends well cs66.
The water police have been very vigilant over the past week and there have been two police boats at times patrolling the area and stopping jet skis to check licenses. Barks said he saw a cop patrolling on a jet ski today.Now thats innovation.
Jet ski traffic ,although still out of control,was not as bad as its been in the past and the water police presence has definitely helped.
Also the fair that sets up south of the car park ,is not there this year and thats probably helped control the crowd numbers in the car park.

Yes indeed folks, Slalomfreak has it down pat. I was down there yesterday & waved a patrol guy in(on a jet-ski). They were patrolling the beach with 2 skis and massive high powered rib. I had a friendly chat and mentioned my little incident last wk. What he and the police in general urge us all to do is to file a police report if there is any issue on the water with jet-skis. The more reports, the more they have to work with & make a case to patrol more often. If there are any issues on the beach or car park, it's important that you also note the time, as they can check CCT footage. Apparently there are a number of cameras dotted along the beach front. This will work for us & the other jet-ski uses that are doing the right thing, as cs66 rightly pointed out.
Progress has been made so onwards and upwards.

About time lm sure a minority of jet ski users IQ drops down 100% when they go out.

Maybe l might start sailing down at kyeemagh for a change.

Thats why they carry guns

cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/4f7066df710777d61b67003a736c5429?width=650

Translation (English ain't Macro's first language (so he probably speaks twice as many languages as you)).

I feel sorry for you but we here on the Gold Coast are past the "accidental" stage already. After a very serious collision with a jet ski that left one of our windsurfer ladies in hospital, and then a jet boat crushing another windsurfer, we have entered a completely new era; the era of boats running at you on purpose, not by accident, with engines at full speed.

(me: I have personally experienced boats intentionally trying to collide with me a couple of times on the Gold Coast Broadwater, forcing me to take evasive action and dump everything, followed by raucous laughter)

Now the penalty for sailboarders pursuing peaceful, yet exhilarating pursuits and natural highs ...on anchored boats... er... could be revenge.

(me: OK, I didn't get this line either. Accept mystery and enjoy)

These days boaties seem free to chase and ram you. Since we have more motor boats here than Western Australia has sharks the risks are very real.

_____

So yeah some hyperbole and exotic language, and maybe something else, but it ain't that hard to understand.

I wanted to add that I've been sailing at Botany Bay for about four years after moving down from the Gold Coast. At first I honestly couldn't see any issue with the jet skis. To me they were scant. A handful that as far as I'd seen kept their distance and even came to a stop if you were nearby. Real "meh" stuff when compared to being cut-off and sprayed in the narrow channels of the GC Broadwater (which is unbelievable empty on a weekday by the way).

But I sailed there one day in December and it was ****ing nuts. Countless jet skis running up and down the beach, often passing right in front of me from the blind, leeward side. It ruined my sail. It just wasn't comfortable.

I think the issue is people riding friends' jet skis with no licence and no experience. At all.

On the bright side the people that are riding jet skis there don't look like they are drunk, or ever have been. I guess that's a plus.

_______

Here's a jet-ski rider with 40 minutes experience hitting a speed boat.
www.goldcoastbulletin.com.au/nocookies?a=A.flavipes

There have been a few jet-ski deaths on the Gold Coast, including honeymooners hitting a parked boat.

A windsurfer nearly lost her leg after being hit by a jet ski.
www.couriermail.com.au/ipad/injured-windsur-left-stranded-without-compensation/news-story/047ff9d10397f17e3f6491ea04fb4afa

Jet skis suck.

I honestly think based on noise pollution alone jet skis should be banned from almost everywhere. If you consider how dangerous they are and that they are being ridden by inexperienced riders near swimmers, kayakers etc. etc. etc. they should be banned outright.

/rant


P.S. Treat every jet ski like it's trying to kill you. Keep a safe distance. Give them way. Like you're on a motorbike in traffic.