RECKLESS boaters at MacFarland Park/Florence Harbor

Bro and I went fishing at 7 Mile Island recently. Boats would just fly by us. I am sure the Patrols are doing the best they can. Be careful! TheSwindleMaster

I hope you and your family had fun dispite the IDIOTS.

This is not a new thing. Years ago the husband and kid would come home early from fishing cause the speeders were making huge wakes. When I was a kid we never went to the river on holidays cause the drunk boaters were just too stupid.

I personally believe there should be a boating course attached to the written test for a boat license. There are too many idiots getting licensed because they can answer multiple choice questions but when it comes to being responsible boaters with common sense many of these idiots don't fit in.

At Orange Beach this weekend there were numerous police boats monitoring the area. In Louisiana at the more popular boating areas you will see the Coast Guard, Sheriff's Dept, and local police in boats. In Florence, AL? 1 maybe 2 marine police boats.

They have checkpoints on the road for license and insurance. Is there some reason they can't have checkpoints at the boat launches? Seems like a good place to start.

As a responsible Waveraider(jetski, waverunner)rider I have had to abort a few "missions" of wave jumping because of some yahoo that doesn't understand that you need to be a certain distance behind the boats, a certain distance away from others, and that there is a right of way on the water just as there is on the street.

We've been fishing the banks and in the mouth of spring creek before and had the ski boats nearly wash us out of the creek. Most slow down but some come through their full throttle. Dad keeps having to position the boat so we dont get swamped. Now, we prefer to fish during the week instead of the weekends. We have even had other fisherman not slow down and come by way to fast for the creek. We try to be respectful to other boaters the best we can. I wish everyone else would too.

Went out fishing yesterday and dealt with idiots all day.

I noticed the same sort of problems in the McFarland swimming area just last week myself. Boats heading into the marina wide open... and a jet ski was in the swimming area doing circles around his daughter and the other small children in the area. I don't know what this guy was thinking... though I have an idea he was showing off in front of me. Most definitely not the way to impress me... instead showing me how hazardously foolish he was. He oogled me from the bank about half an hour before he started all that. This poor woman had to take herself and her baby out of the water for fear of what might happen. He left after we all stopped swimming and just stared at him waiting to call 911 for his daughter.

That area really needs to be roped off or divided somehow with signs about boats/jet skis not being permitted in that immediate area at least.

quote:

Originally posted by bluesman *:
dogsoldier0513, I don't know what you seen in the water as to who was patrolling, as quoted "In the 3 hours saw Harbor Patrol once. Good policicng is BEING SEEN." But I know for a fact, that between 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. there were three patrol cars that pass the harbor, one sheriff's car, and two park rangers, that pass by the harbor. If you are cutting down the Marine Police, do you have any ideal of how much water way they have to patroll. And it's been a long time since I have swim in the Tennessee River, I think I would be more worry about what you were swimming in than anything else http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=49453 Sounds like some things people say when their house is broken into, where in the heck was the police, will if they were parked in front of one's house 24/7, then the same people would asked, why the heck is the police parked in front of my house for.

As a foremr LEO, I can assure you that I WAS NOT 'cutting down the cops'. I WAS, however, cutting down the behaviors of a few certain IDIOTS in boats and on other personal watercraft.

FWIW, I have seen the regular patrols through the Park by the various LEOs. What I DON'T see, though, is regular patrols of the SWIMMING area.

Good Morning all ...

I am avid boater myself, only a year into though. Last year I was enjoying my boat one of my first trips out and I was just cruising along not fast at all and out of nowhere this waverunner comes by (with his girlfriend on the back) and got real close and sprayed us, course that p**s*d my off and I thought about chasing him but I knew I would never catch him. I'm sure he was just having fun and showing off no doubt...but still. I have always been courteous towards other boaters. When I run up the channel (on the low side towards the dam) I always watch for fishermen on the side and I would slow down so my wake wouldn't wash them out but on the same token, when I'm putting back in at Sheffield , fishing boats would zoom down close by knocking my boat into the dock with their wake. So now I use McFarland just for this reason. Seems that I enjoy the river more during the week than the weekend. I feel like I have the river to myself then. Roping off McFarland beach may not be a bad idea, they do that up at Pickwick. Yes, those people ripping thru there is just an accident waiting to happen. It's ashame that we have to wait for a bad accident and somebody gets hurt or worse before any enforcement gets put in place. Wish we all could enjoy the river peacefully and safe.

They need to let the Marine Patrol from Wilson Lake work on Pickwick Lake. Every time I go out in my boat I see him on Shoals Creek. It seems as though Shoals Creek is where he concentrates his efforts. Oh ya, he lives on Wilson Lake near Shoals Creek also.

All of the above just goes to show the prevailing redneckitude of all too many persons who use our public waters. These are the same morons who weave their cars recklessly in and out of traffic, seeking some minuscule advantage as they whiz from place to place, the same dolts who cut you off in traffic and, as an extra little bonus, deliver the central digital signal of obscene contempt and derision as they do so. They are a curse and a bane on civilized society and there simply is not enough meaningful enforcement against these kinds of socially rebellious, uncivil behaviors. Couple that with the likelihood that a pretty good fraction of these miscreants are under the influence of alcohol, and you have disaster waiting to happen and--not infrequently--actually happening.

What is needed, in addition to regular patrolling of the McFarland boating/swimming area, is an occasional full-force crackdown, intensively focused on that and other high-use areas. Nail these vermin and give them the maximum penalties and get coverage in the local paper. Get the word out that if you are going to do those things, there is a price to pay. To allow this kind of thing to continue putting innocent swimmers at risk, is unconscionable. The problem is not hard to identify and the slimeball perpetrators can be caught and punished!

Increasing the price of gas would help reduce boating traffic. IMO...ski doos and 4-wheeler bikes should be banned. Both of them are bad for the earth and both are menaces.

quote:

Originally posted by Confederate Pride:
Increasing the price of gas would help reduce boating traffic. blah blah blah blah

Yeah, and increasing the cost of fast food would reduce the number of grossly obese people in this world too right?

More education and stiffer penalties would be a good starting point.

Thank you! Also having people weigh at he grocery store checkout to determine the price their big butts pay would help curb obesity ! I'm glad you agree!

Nope. The best way to curb obesity in this country would be to install mirrors beside every table or booth and make everybody eat naked.

I have one question and I want an honest answer.

How long have these reckless boaters and jet skiers been out there ?

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog Blues:
I have one question and I want an honest answer.

How long have these reckless boaters and jet skiers been out there ?

AWHILE. Society, in general. has 'tolerated' their behavior FAR TOO LONG. On the side of humor, when we first arrived at MacFarland Park's swimming area last sunday, both kids were asking: "I wonder if it's gonna be Redneck Day or Spandex Day at the beach?"

quote:

Originally posted by dogsoldier0513:

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog Blues:
I have one question and I want an honest answer.

How long have these reckless boaters and jet skiers been out there ?

AWHILE. Society, in general. has 'tolerated' their behavior FAR TOO LONG. On the side of humor, when we first arrived at MacFarland Park's swimming area last sunday, both kids were asking: "I wonder if it's gonna be Redneck Day or Spandex Day at the beach?"

Ok , now I want another honest answer.

Why are there so many people all over Lauderdale and Colbert Counties being in deadly car wrecks ?

I have only taken my boat out twice this year, ... and both times were just as described.

I don't understand though, one has to have a boating license, and know the safety...what gives them the RIGHT to act like idiots on the water????

And for the one talking about the waverunner... what if it had of knocked one of your passengers off, and they drowned?... IT CAN HAPPEN.. That is why they MAKE BOATING SAFETY COURSES...

Call the Troopers next time something like that happens... try to remember every detail you can, down to the color swimming suits.. .. next person they try that with may be a defenseless child....

quote:

Originally posted by Kindred_Spirit:


I don't understand though, one has to have a boating license, and know the safety...what gives them the RIGHT to act like idiots on the water????

I just recently took the "official safety course" when I bought a runabout. What a joke. You take it online (or have someone take it for you -- I did take mine myself), look up the answers to the questions as you go (no time limit), pay your twenty bucks, and VOILA! You get your certificate. Doesn't teach you a darned thing about operating a boat.

quote:

Originally posted by vick13:
Nope. The best way to curb obesity in this country would be to install mirrors beside every table or booth and make everybody eat naked.

Roflllllllllll Vick!!! Now THAT would probably do the trick... but other diners might not like that! lol.. good one

quote:

Originally posted by LAWGRL:

quote:

Originally posted by Kindred_Spirit:


I don't understand though, one has to have a boating license, and know the safety...what gives them the RIGHT to act like idiots on the water????

I just recently took the "official safety course" when I bought a runabout. What a joke. You take it online (or have someone take it for you -- I did take mine myself), look up the answers to the questions as you go (no time limit), pay your twenty bucks, and VOILA! You get your certificate. Doesn't teach you a darned thing about operating a boat.

I know that, got one myself for mine... but the question was, what gives them the RIGHT to act like idiots... and to go further, they are endangering LIVES out there acting like that...

Best thing to do is call State Trooper, give location and let them get hold of the River Ops.

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog Blues:

quote:

Originally posted by dogsoldier0513:

quote:

Originally posted by Hound Dog Blues:
I have one question and I want an honest answer.

How long have these reckless boaters and jet skiers been out there ?

AWHILE. Society, in general. has 'tolerated' their behavior FAR TOO LONG. On the side of humor, when we first arrived at MacFarland Park's swimming area last sunday, both kids were asking: "I wonder if it's gonna be Redneck Day or Spandex Day at the beach?"

Ok , now I want another honest answer.

Why are there so many people all over Lauderdale and Colbert Counties being in deadly car wrecks ?

Now THAT is a mystery... we do have way too many deaths on the highway, we dont need anymore in boats!!!

quote:

Originally posted by LAWGRL:

I just recently took the "official safety course" when I bought a runabout. What a joke. You take it online (or have someone take it for you -- I did take mine myself), look up the answers to the questions as you go (no time limit), pay your twenty bucks, and VOILA! You get your certificate. Doesn't teach you a darned thing about operating a boat.

PROOF AT LAST....that today's states regard the issuance of 'licenses' as a SOURCE OF INCOME, rather than as a system to PROTECT its citizens.

Thank you, kind sir!

THIS afternoon at 'the beach', it was 'juvenile delinquent day'. After warning several unruly juveniles (ages 12-17 or so) to STOP throwing rocks at folks sitting on the grassy area of 'the beach' (they were also tossing 'boulders' at each other), and to STOP using profanity in the presence of young children, I called the cops. No, I did NOT dial '911'. Approximately 10 minutes later, the Park Patrol arrived , spoke to me, spoke to the delinquents, spoke to me again, and left. 15 minutes later, the delinquents packed it in and departed.

quote:

Originally posted by vick13:
Nope. The best way to curb obesity in this country would be to install mirrors beside every table or booth and make everybody eat naked.

Well...vick, it wouldn't work for you. They are bound to have some sort of music. You would start dancing nakkid....if nothing else, the sprinkler system would come on. You know your history. On the positive side..we have really needed the rain each time you have felt the urge. Maybe this solution is something you want to rethink. Unless of course, they have a patio or something.Don't want to go from draught to monsoon, just because you are having too much fun.