Share The Waterways

Sharing is part of rowing—for example we share the water we row on with many people. Anyone who grew up with brothers or sisters knows that sharing can involve hassles. One of these hassles is who do you turn to when you are having a conflict.

For rowers an area of potential conflict is the wakes generated by other boats. All vessels (including coaching launches!) are responsible for damage that their wake may cause, and wakes can definitely cause damage.

If you have a problem with someone’s wake you basically have two solutions—you solve it or someone else does.

Often the best recourse is to attempt to solve the conflict yourself. Do this by having a conversation with the individual that made the wake—an intelligent conversation—not a yelling match. In most cases drivers of boats don’t realize how fragile a shell is or how much damage their wake can cause. They may not even be aware of what their wake is doing. In these cases a polite and intelligent conversation may get to a resolution quickly.

But unfortunately you may find that the driver’s behavior, or the situation, may make the first solution difficult—then I suggest you take the second recourse (especially if any damage has been caused). The steps here are simple:

• Record as much information about the offending boat as possible (bow number, boat name, description)
• Get a witness (if possible)
• Report the information to the authorities

If the offending boat it is a commercial vessel then you should contact the United States Coast Guard directly. If the boat is privately owned then the information should be reported to your local authorities. Exactly who that authority is will depend on your area—it may be the county sheriff, marine patrol, or Department of Natural Resources. To find out who to report to you may need to make several phone calls.

Surf’s up. Be careful.