Spotter for Water Skiing in the Covid-19 era

overkill19

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
305
Reaction score
694
How do u think a spotter in the other boat is going to tell you to stop ???Drive in front of you? Get a rope wrapped around ur arm while falling and you will soon learn no way this plan is a good idea!
 

FernieHawk

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
1,965
Reaction score
5,563
Location
Fernie, BC
How do u think a spotter in the other boat is going to tell you to stop ???Drive in front of you? Get a rope wrapped around ur arm while falling and you will soon learn no way this plan is a good idea!


No guarantees in life about anything.

Your point about being snagged and dragged is definitely a valid one. I do know someone who had their finger ripped off off by the rope while surfing...not sure exactly how it happened but a spotter wouldn't have made a difference, it got ripped off when she fell, she wasn't dragged. It is also a very real concern while Air Chairing...getting the rope caught on the foil/leg but there are tear-away devices for this situation.

Usually no spotter on private ski lakes/clubs.

Ive been towed by drivers, with a spotter, on numerous occasions where I have been left in the middle of the lake while they carry on...la-de-da...chatting away with each other while I'm left out there waiting to get hit by another inattentive driver that is distracted by all the other $hit going on in their boat. I'm perfectly willing to entrust my wife with my safety...all she has to do is drive and watch the mirror...no spotter to distract her with Idle chit chat while she is driving. I see this all the time while I'm skiing or Air Chairing...some spotters have no clue as to what their task is, and a lot of the drivers are just as inattentive. I have had to ream out numerous drivers about their lack of attention while driving their boats. I have talked with my wife about this so many times concerning inattentive drivers and spotters, she has become more critical of other drivers/spotters than me.


My personal worries while being towed are being knocked unconscious, having a serious injury that requires immediate attention, and being left out in the lake exposed to inattentive drivers. Having a following boat spotting for me covers pretty much all of my concerns and that is all that matters...that my personal safety concerns are covered.

My wife is concerned with getting a ticket while she is driving without a spotter.
 
Last edited:

Ronaha

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2015
Messages
1,606
Reaction score
3,038
Location
Narnia
I was quite surprised how anal the RCMP were at the Shuswaps....we passed without tickets but I had to prove all 11 of whatever saftey items and he was rude
 

overkill19

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
305
Reaction score
694
I was quite surprised how anal the RCMP were at the Shuswaps....we passed without tickets but I had to prove all 11 of whatever saftey items and he was rude

Remember he’s a product of his environment... I’m sure he deals with retards all day long! In Kelowna we are not too far from the marina and u can spot a boat renter a mile away not to say some locals are retarded too!
“The guy to the right... has the right of way”
Red light green light on the front of the boat is a pretty good reminder but f#ck me!
 

drew562

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
5,484
Reaction score
21,485
Location
edmonton
No license for fishing. No boat license. Always have beer on board. Drive my boat day or night because I don’t care what the laws are Been driving boats since I was a kid and I’ve never had a spotter when I pull the kids on tubes, they want to go let’s go. I use my mirror. That said my house is on the lake in Alberta not a really busy body of water
 

Bikeswithtrax

Active VIP Member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
574
Reaction score
1,446
Location
Celista BC Canada
I live on the shore of Shuswap lake, boat regularly all summer long, and have been for 12 years. Not once have the cops harrassed me, got asked if i had a fishing license while fishing a couple of times. I was trolling along, and from about 12 feet away where they were running along parallel to me, I held up my license, they said thanks, and motored off.
 

YamaDad

Active VIP Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2011
Messages
173
Reaction score
178
Location
Redwater, Ab
The rule for pulling anyone is that there is a driver (obviously), a spotter, and enough room for all the people being towed. If someone gets knocked out or requires immediate help the spotter must be able to enter the water while the driver stays with the boat. Same idea with room on board for all the riders. I never thought about another boat providing some of that requirement, I wonder if the authorities have.
 

FernieHawk

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
1,965
Reaction score
5,563
Location
Fernie, BC
second boat could run over top of yah

that what the rule makers will think

just sayin


Ya no doubt.

I think I would instruct the following boat to stay at my 4 O'clock or 8 O'clock position, not my 6 O,clock. I have a bit of a Prop Chop phobia.
 

overkill19

Active VIP Member
Joined
Mar 9, 2014
Messages
305
Reaction score
694
second boat could run over top of yah

that what the rule makers will think

just sayin

Lady did that to her self 2-3 years ago, boat load of kids, 4 on two tubes she was doing donuts not knowing that one had fell off tube... she ran over her own kid! Killed him and continued on !
 

FernieHawk

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 1, 2008
Messages
1,965
Reaction score
5,563
Location
Fernie, BC
Lady did that to her self 2-3 years ago, boat load of kids, 4 on two tubes she was doing donuts not knowing that one had fell off tube... she ran over her own kid! Killed him and continued on !

This is why I tend to ream out inattentive drivers...$hit like that is inexcusable. It's possible to miss things when the driver and spotter are on full alert...really easy to miss things when you're distracted and not paying attention.

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/loca...e-on-one-leg-after-horrific-boating-accident/
 
Last edited:

Ronaha

Active VIP Member
Joined
Dec 11, 2015
Messages
1,606
Reaction score
3,038
Location
Narnia
Every year someone somewhere chops up there loved ones, it’s awful for sure, probably suicides too after that happens.
 
Top Bottom