Paul Szmal: Welcome back to FLX Morning, currently 75 at 816. This is the prime season for boating all around the Finger Lakes, so with some boating safety tips this morning, Ira Goldman is joining us. Good morning, Ira. How are you, sir?
Ira Goldman: I'm fine, Paul, and good morning to you. You know, we've had perfect weather the last few days for boating, and as we approach the 4th of July, we will expect to see probably the busiest time of year on most of our local waters, and so the discussion this morning is going to be on the rules of the road and how to stay safe, and the primary one is that if you're in a motorboat of all kinds, including a personal watercraft or a jet ski, you have to yield the right-of-way to all sailboats, paddlecraft, anything that's not motorized, you must stay out of the way of them, and if you're approaching another motorboat, and if a boat's approaching from your right, also known as the starboard side of the boat, you must yield the right-of-way to a boat approaching from the right, and if you're overtaking a boat, you must stay clear of them, yield the right-of-way to a boat you're overtaking.
If a boat's approaching from your left, then you must hold your course, but be prepared to alter your course if the other boat does not realize that they have to yield the right-of-way to you, and as I say, this time of year, even with Breonna's Law now in effect that says everyone must have a safe boating certificate, there's still a number of boaters who, that's the only training they've had, and it's hard to remember all those rules when you're out on the water. I think the easiest thing to do is just be mindful if you see a boat approaching from the left or the right and be ready to yield the right-of-way.
Paul Szmal: That's correct, and one of the basic rules of boat operator is you must always maintain a lookout. You know, if you have a larger boat that has an autopilot, you can't set it on course and go do something else or get engaged with your phone or talk to people, you must maintain a lookout.
Ira Goldman: I would be scared to death to let a boat operate on autopilot myself, Ira.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, well, in most cases, you know, the autopilots are used on the larger lakes like Lake Ontario and other things, but new boats that come equipped with all those electronics and new operators who are used to cruise control on a car, it's just too easy to engage it sometimes, and that's when it gets dangerous.
Ira Goldman: Yeah, we're talking with Ira Goldman, getting you some safe boating tips for the summer here on FLX Morning. One of the biggest things that I know from riding in a boat is that wakes can be dangerous to other boaters and swimmers and kayakers and things of that nature.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that's correct, and another basic rule is you are always responsible for your wake, and even if you're following the New York state law, which says you can't go more than five miles an hour within a hundred feet of shore, and in some cases in the Finger Lakes and Canandaigua and Cayuga, among others, it increases to 200, but even if you're following those rules and you're going by a boat that's fishing or a kayak or a canoe, you must be aware of what your wake is doing to those smaller boats, and pulling a tuba or a wakeboarder, that doesn't change your responsibility. You're still responsible for your wake.
Ira Goldman: Yeah, and that basically means when you see people out swimming or kayaking and they might be within range of your wake, you're going to want to slow down and back it off.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, and we get a lot of comments about wakeboarders, and those boats are specifically designed to generate a large wake, so wakeboarders can expect surf behind the boat, and they are completely legal, but we once again, you know, we encourage people to be good neighbors, and the Wakeboarding Association has published a list of recommendations, you know, that's not the law, but it is what the industry recommends, and that includes staying 500 to 600 feet or more offshore, so you're not going back and forth in front of your neighbors. Also, keep your sound system down to a reasonable level, particularly if you're on a smaller lake, I mean, you enjoy having your sounds with you, but you know, some of your neighbors might not enjoy it as much as you do, so it's all involved with being a good neighbor.
Ira Goldman: In the event that you do unfortunately maybe have an incident out on the water, what is the protocol there, Ira?
Paul Szmal: Well, if you observe, certainly if you're involved, but if you observe an accident or a boat capsizing, which is actually quite frequent, the rule says you are required to assist. As long as you can do it safely and without endangering your crew or your boat or others, and the other exception, of course, is that if there are already emergency responders on the scene and they have it well in hand, they don't ask for help, then also you can, you know, avoid getting involved, but if you see somebody in distress, either because they're in the water or they're standing up waving their hands or they're waving the emergency flag, which is an orange flag with a black ball and a black square on it, that indicates they need help.
Ira Goldman: Some good advice there, Ira, and I guess maybe one of the most important things, and this is kind of all-encompassing of everything we've talked about so far, is to just be courteous on the waterways.
Paul Szmal: Yeah, that's correct. I mean, and we said a few minutes ago about this volume from sound systems, but also particularly in the Finger Lakes area, there are a number of public parks and camps with designated swimming areas, and it's very important to stay clear of those. Also, we have some boating events that go on during the year, classic car boats. We just had the Champaign Lightning sailboat regatta on Keuka Lake, and in most cases, those events get a permit from the New York State Department of Parks and Recreation, which is responsible for boating, and it's approved by the local Marine Patrol, and so if you see an event like that going on, you need to stay clear of that out of courtesy, and this includes fishermen, and the general rule is that people are allowed to fish right up to the shoreline. That can't be prohibited by property owners. The exception to that is a designated swimming area, so if that's the case, you need to stay clear, and then the other bit about being courteous, if you're a trailer boater and you're launching or retrieving a boat at a ramp, prepare your boat before you get right to the ramp. You know, take off the covers, the tie downs, etc., and then when it's your turn, back down into the water and get the trailer out. Also, when you come in, get the boat on the trailer and then pull it up into the parking area to finish your preparations, and one thing I would add to that is in most of New York State, there's concern about invasive species, so the rule in New York is clean, drain, and dry, so when you take your boat out of the water, look at the trailer, look at the bottom, make sure you don't have any things adhering to it. If you're a fisherman, drain your bait wells or any water you picked up locally, so the next time place you go, you're not moving any invasive species with you.
Ira Goldman: And we should remind people one more time that there is a requirement that you have that New York State Safe Boating Certificate now if you're operating a motorboat.
Paul Szmal: That's correct, and you can get this a number of ways. The America's Boating Club that I am a member of and teaches a number of courses, if you go to americasboatingcourse.com, you can find all the local and online courses, and then the New York State Parks and Recreation website has a boating education page. It's a fairly long web address, so I won't try to repeat it, but if you google New York State Parks and Rec Boating Education, it'll come up and you can find a directory where you put in your zip code, and you can find all the local courses, and you can also find links to all the online courses that New York State has approved.
Ira Goldman: All right, Ira. As always, we appreciate the tips and the information. Thank you, sir.
Paul Szmal: You're welcome, Paul. We'll talk to you again in the fall. It is 8 26 on FLX Morning.
