Re: Define: No Wake Zone
Ok...nice article from Powerboating mag..<br /><br />
http://www.powerboating.com/pbc15-3/lifeline15-3.html <br /><br />You Watch My Wake and I'll Watch My Wash by Mark King<br />From heads to bathrooms, companionways to hallways and salons to living rooms, the sport of boating is slowly losing some of its unique terminology.<br /><br />Perhaps in an effort to attract more people to the recreation, boating stories, especially some new boat reviews, are using terminology that relates to houses.<br /><br />Certain terms, however, will never leave the world of boating and it is important that proficient boaters know them. When the wind is howling and the rain is falling and everything is going wrong, the skipper of the boat needs to be able to speak to his crew in a common language that everyone understands.<br /><br />Hence the need for correct terminology. Bow will always mean the front, and stern, the back. Starboard and port indicate specific sides of the boat no matter which way the boat is going and which way you are facing. Right and left just won't make the grade in an emergency.<br /><br />But the two terms that will likely cause the most confusion in the boating world over the next few years as people become used to re-learning them are "wake" and "wash." These are both simple terms with standard dictionary definitions that have been misused for years - especially "wake."<br /><br />Both terms are on the Canadian Coast Guard list of mandatory definitions that need to be understood by recreational boaters. Of course, when boaters start receiving fines for damage their "wash" creates, the understanding will become much more common.<br /><br />By why wait? Learn them now and save yourself the embarrassment of a fine.<br /><br />For years, agencies and private individuals have been littering our waterways with signs that say, "No Wake" or "No Wake Zone." In many instances these same agencies knew they meant to say "No Wash" or "No Wash Zone," but believed boaters would better understand the word "wake."<br /><br />In fact, it is impossible to move a boat through the water, at any speed, without creating a wake. Wake simply means the disturbed column of water around and behind a craft that is set in motion by the passage of that craft.<br /><br />Next time you are in your boat, take a look behind you. You will see what looks like a track through the water where you have been. That is your wake. So you can watch my wake as I blow past you in a river rocket. I, on the other hand, have a legal responsibility to watch my wash.<br /><br />Wash is defined as the loose or broken water left behind a pleasure craft as it moves along and includes the water thrown aft by the propeller. Most commonly your wash consists of the waves that travel from your boat's track and move away from your boat. Eventually this is the wave action that erodes shorelines, sends other boats rocking and creates that banging noise as docks bounce up and down after a boat passes.<br /><br />This is the stuff that the "No Wake" signs are supposed to address, but don't.<br /><br />With firm definitions in place and Careless Operation defined in the Small Vessel Regulations, you will soon begin hearing about boaters being fined. The charge will be Careless Operation.<br /><br />The regulation reads, "No person shall operate a small vessel in a careless manner without due care or without reasonable consideration for other persons."<br /><br />Among other things, operators can be charged with Careless Operation if their wash adversely affects: other vessels, including anchored vessels, grounded vessels, vessels tied to docks, wrecks, dredges, tows, rowboats or canoes; work being passed; the shoreline; docks or floats; wetlands; other waterway users such as swimmers or users of bathing beaches; where divers are working; or an area of anchorage.<br /><br />The Collision Regulations state that you must be a prudent operator at all times based on the prevailing conditions and local restrictions.<br /><br />You are responsible for any damage or discomfort your boat causes to wildlife, people, objects and the shoreline, and you must take into account all other circumstances as you govern the operation of your vessel.<br /><br />Even on large rivers and lakes, a boat's wash can travel for quite a distance, causing disturbances on the shoreline. Often operators are not aware of the problem. Their wash reaches the shore several minutes after they have passed by.<br /><br />As the operator of the pleasure craft it is your responsibility to know the characteristics of your wash and govern your boat speed accordingly.<br /><br />Ironically, in the argument for control over wash that rages along narrow channels and near shorelines, boaters and non-boaters alike relate the problem strictly to speed.<br /><br />While speed is a factor, today's planing hulls make much more wash when they are travelling at certain slower speeds than they do while they are on plane.<br /><br />So, the only way to regulate the problem is by controlling wash. You watch yours and I'll watch mine - and be aware that both of ours are being watched by others.<br /><br />(Lifeline is produced through the Safe Boater Training Program, a certification program for recreational boaters.) <br /><br />-JMW
