Of all the changes, restrictions and metal detectors…plus all kinds of things we have to go through today for security, it is refreshing one thing that has not changed. That is our recreational boating. There seems to be regulations on everything which is really for your safety and the safety of people around you which we can all agree upon. In recreational boating, these changes have hardly affected the way that we’ve done boating for decades.

            Essentially you can be on your boat in a bay, in the sound, or in the ocean…and go in any direction you want. You can make circles, you could pass on the left or the right, you could drop anchor just about anywhere, you could go fishing, and you can even have a picnic aboard your boat as you drift! It still feels very much unrestricted…boating. As long as you’re safe you have real freedom to actually do what you want out on the water. You could be going along at a high rate of speed, slow down the motors and stop! You can put them in reverse and drive in reverse as far as you want…. Spin her around and hit the fuel again and off you go. There are basic rules & regulations with anything that we do and it’s basically to have safety for everyone. When you plan your boat trip and your course to your destination, it could be from anywhere at any angle and it’s just wonderful to know that you could do all these things and not be worried about being “pulled over”. Yes, the waterways are getting busier, the bays and sound also. More regulations will eventually come, but basically we won’t see double yellow lines telling us that we cannot pass over, or those turning lanes out on the water. It’s up to us to be reasonable and responsible to keep these freedoms that we have on the water.

            It still surprises me that you could just plan a trip to anywhere, get on-board and go…pull over just about anywhere and anchor so you can stay the night! It’s one of the best tastes of freedom that still hasn’t changed. So carry on and enjoy this wonderful thing called boating.

And Why Knot!

Tags: boat, boating, recreational boating, boat trip