Boating Etiquette

Went boating today, and there were some newcomers at the dock. Apparently some friends my dad recently met. Part of what I love about boating is just hanging out with friends enjoying the sun. I also enjoy teaching people about the sport, and introducing them to something new and exciting. So in general I'm cool with new people at the lake. However there are a couple things that some newcomers do that just rub me the wrong way. Of course I (and the rest of my family) are too nice to say anything most of the time. Maybe they don't know any better, but we feel it's kinda common sense stuff that people should know. Okay, not all of it is common sense, but some should be. At any rate, here is a short list of "Rules to follow when Nick asks you to go boating"

1. Don't bring young kids without asking. I'll often say things like "bring whoever you want" and "the more the merrier" and for the most part I mean it. However water can be dangerous, and I don't know if you are a good enough parent to watch after them properly or not. I once spent the day babysitting a small child who was in the boat the whole time, while their mom was sun-tanning not paying the least bit attention. Not Cool. Even if you are a responsible parent, leave them at home first, to 'learn the ropes'.

2. Wait your turn. I am happy to teach people to ski and/or wakeboard. But sometimes smooth water is hard to find, and smooth water is wasted on someone sitting in the water trying to keep their skis straight. It bothers me when people first arrive, and say "Oh cool, a wakeboard! I'm going to try that" and start to pick up a life jacket. Instead, say things like "Do you think I could try to wakeboard sometime today?"

3. Notice the average time each skier goes for, and try to follow it. I could ski for a half hour straight too, but I don't. It isn't much fun for everyone else, especially the driver. If you keep it short the first time, you can do it again later.

4. Tubing is for rough water. Everyone loves a good tube ride, but it is just as fun (or arguably more fun) in rough water then it is smooth. On a small lake, pulling a tube in circles will just rough up the water for everyone else. This will cause them to go "well, its rough, i guess we'll tube now" and suddenly a once smooth lake is now infested with boats spinning recklessly chopping up the water. When nobody wants to ski/wakeboard anymore because the lake is too choppy, then you can ask for a tube ride. And most likely, we will have gotten it out of the garage by that point.

5. Swim on the side of the dock. Notice how everytime someone skis, the boat comes about 5 feet from the end of the dock, so the skier can drop of at the ladder? That means its probably not a good idea to swim there. Also, it'd be a good idea to swim on the OPPOSITE side of the dock that the boat sits on.