Life as we know it...

[Moe_Havi]

at Havasu is coming to an end. Too many drunks, too many cruds too many crashes, too much carbon monoxide, too many lake lice, too little police patience. Has anyone seen the article in the LA times on Havasu today? Not a pretty picture.
Moe

[Her454]

Can you post it?

[spute]

i read it..
an optimistic look at the article= if people read it, maybe they won't be jackasses out there and start paying attention. i'm all for everyone having a good time, but you put a novice at the helm of a 100 mph boat with a 12 pack in him, you are going to have problems...

[That Guy]

Keeping Risks on the River at Bay
With big holiday crowds expected at Lake Havasu, officials are planning to crack down on drinking and reckless boating.
By Lance Pugmire, Times Staff Writer
LAKE HAVASU — Deputy Dave Smith shook his head as he watched a young teenager on a Sea Doo watercraft putter through open water toward Havasu Landing, oblivious to the speed boats cutting across the lake at breakneck speed.
At that very spot two weeks ago, a speedboat and a 32-foot catamaran collided head-on, killing a 10-year-old Moorpark boy and his father.
"Failure to maintain proper lookout is a huge problem out here, and it's the cause — with alcohol use — of 95% of the accidents we see," said Smith, steering his San Bernardino County sheriff's marine boat along the 90 miles of the river he patrols. "These are people who only need to use the same skills they use when they're driving a car, but it's like when they get on the water, they hang their brain out to the side."
Thousands of Southern Californians are expected to swarm to this popular stretch of the Colorado River this Fourth of July weekend, cutting loose and clogging the waterway in a sun-baked, wild floating party.
It's a hazardous mix that has led to five deaths on the water since September, and authorities say they will be out in force this weekend to crack down on the drunken and out-of-control boaters that are most often to blame.
Those crowds used to be limited to long holiday weekends, but now, with more and more Southern Californians vacationing close to home, congestion has become common.
On almost any weekend, Smith said, he sees young teenagers on personal watercraft zipping by at almost 70 miles an hour, and boaters cruising down the Colorado while swigging beers — which is legal on the water — and leering at bikini-clad women instead of watching the water ahead.
"It's so popular that every summer weekend at the river is like a holiday weekend," said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. "There's also nothing stopping you from buying a $150,000 boat that goes 100-plus mph and putting it on the water for the first time you've ever driven a boat."
On June 16, Steven Patchett, 48, and his 10-year-old son Tyler were traveling at about 60 mph in their catamaran when it smashed into a slower-moving 23-foot boat near Havasu Landing. The Patchetts both died, and another family member was seriously injured.
Last weekend, at a popular gathering spot known as the Sandbar, a speedboat plowed over a pontoon boat, and one of the injured was airlifted to a nearby hospital in serious condition. North of that crash, two people on personal watercraft crashed into one another, sending both to a hospital.
Downriver, three people from Orange County were killed in a two-boat collision along the Parker Strip in September.
There is no speed limit on the river. Law enforcement officials can only cite boaters traveling at "unsafe" speeds or those who violate speed restrictions inside marked "no-wake zones."
"It's getting so crazy out here because people who don't know how to drive boats are renting them and showing no responsibility, and the young, dumb kids on the Sea-Doos are only making it worse," said Jimmy Dahl, a former Redondo Beach resident in his mid-40s now living in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Sitting on his pontoon boat sipping a beer, Dahl said people have a right to have fun, but they need to keep it under control.
"I had 15 people on my boat the other day, and we had a great time. I'm drinking beer now, but I was drinking Gatorade on that day," he said. "I'm like everyone. The best day for me is to drink a cold beer and to see something naked…. But don't be so stupid."
Along the channel that runs underneath Lake Havasu's international landmark, the transplanted London Bridge, boaters dock en masse with others cruising through slowly to party, flirt and wade.
A thick cloud of engine exhaust results, and carbon monoxide emissions get so high that the Lake Havasu City Police Department twice closed the channel to all boat traffic during the Memorial Day holiday. The city recently installed carbon monoxide monitors in the channel.
Last year, before the monitors were in place, two Southern Californians drowned in the channel on holiday weekends, with the noxious air and alcohol use suspected as causes of death, said Lake Havasu City Police Lt. Dan Doyle.
"They can be drinking while hanging onto a boat one second, and under the water the next, and nobody really notices because there's so much going on in that channel," sheriff's spokesman Beavers said.
Law enforcement officials said they also are concerned about the river's inherent distractions for teenagers and children — wild tourists, speeding watercraft and breathtaking scenery — and blamed parents for not taking more precautions.
Deputies have stopped 10-year-olds driving personal watercraft, rented from local businesses that rely on parents giving their children's true ages.
"It's like parents giving their kids the keys to a motorcycle and letting them drive full speed through traffic on the 91 Freeway," Smith said. "They don't do it at home, but they do it out here."
The surging popularity of teak surfing and other towing sports, such as wakeboarding, resulted in a 38% increase in towing accidents from 2002 to 2003 in California, said David Johnson, spokesman for the California Department of Boating and Waterways.
Among the three states linked to the river's most popular spot, only Nevada has instituted a law requiring boat operators born after January 1983 to obtain an operator's certificate. The certificate is given for completion of a six- to eight-hour boating safety course approved by the National Assn. of State Boating Laws Administration.
"This was prompted by the fact that 80 to 85% of those involved in boating accidents never had training," said Fred Messman, boating law administrator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
In California, a 1999 bill submitted by a boating task force would have required operators under age 40 to complete a course. It failed by veto, with then-Gov. Gray Davis saying he wasn't convinced the test would reduce accidents or improve boat operating skills.
reprinted without permission from the Los Angeles Times

[Moe_Havi]

Here it is, I t July 2, 2004 E-mail story Print
Keeping Risks on the River at Bay
With big holiday crowds expected at Lake Havasu, officials are planning to crack down on drinking and reckless boating.
Photos
Watchful eye
(Allen J. Schaben / LAT)
Accident scene
(Allen J. Schaben / LAT)
Choke point
(Allen J. Schaben / LAT)
Times Headlines
Drastic Prison Overhaul Urged
A Packrat's Path to Indian Past
Accord on Gaming Clears Way for Budget
Students Ask for More Foreign Language Choices
Keeping Risks on the River at Bay
more >
WATER SPORTS
SAFETY
COLORADO RIVER LAKE HAVASU AZ WATER SPORTS LEISU
LAKE HAVASU AZ
LEISURE
COLORADO RIVER
By Lance Pugmire, Times Staff Writer
LAKE HAVASU — Deputy Dave Smith shook his head as he watched a young teenager on a Sea Doo watercraft putter through open water toward Havasu Landing, oblivious to the speed boats cutting across the lake at breakneck speed.
At that very spot two weeks ago, a speedboat and a 32-foot catamaran collided head-on, killing a 10-year-old Moorpark boy and his father.
"Failure to maintain proper lookout is a huge problem out here, and it's the cause — with alcohol use — of 95% of the accidents we see," said Smith, steering his San Bernardino County sheriff's marine boat along the 90 miles of the river he patrols. "These are people who only need to use the same skills they use when they're driving a car, but it's like when they get on the water, they hang their brain out to the side."
Thousands of Southern Californians are expected to swarm to this popular stretch of the Colorado River this Fourth of July weekend, cutting loose and clogging the waterway in a sun-baked, wild floating party.
It's a hazardous mix that has led to five deaths on the water since September, and authorities say they will be out in force this weekend to crack down on the drunken and out-of-control boaters that are most often to blame.
Those crowds used to be limited to long holiday weekends, but now, with more and more Southern Californians vacationing close to home, congestion has become common.
On almost any weekend, Smith said, he sees young teenagers on personal watercraft zipping by at almost 70 miles an hour, and boaters cruising down the Colorado while swigging beers — which is legal on the water — and leering at bikini-clad women instead of watching the water ahead.
"It's so popular that every summer weekend at the river is like a holiday weekend," said sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Beavers. "There's also nothing stopping you from buying a $150,000 boat that goes 100-plus mph and putting it on the water for the first time you've ever driven a boat."
On June 16, Steven Patchett, 48, and his 10-year-old son Tyler were traveling at about 60 mph in their catamaran when it smashed into a slower-moving 23-foot boat near Havasu Landing. The Patchetts both died, and another family member was seriously injured.
Last weekend, at a popular gathering spot known as the Sandbar, a speedboat plowed over a pontoon boat, and one of the injured was airlifted to a nearby hospital in serious condition. North of that crash, two people on personal watercraft crashed into one another, sending both to a hospital.
Downriver, three people from Orange County were killed in a two-boat collision along the Parker Strip in September.
There is no speed limit on the river. Law enforcement officials can only cite boaters traveling at "unsafe" speeds or those who violate speed restrictions inside marked "no-wake zones."
"It's getting so crazy out here because people who don't know how to drive boats are renting them and showing no responsibility, and the young, dumb kids on the Sea-Doos are only making it worse," said Jimmy Dahl, a former Redondo Beach resident in his mid-40s now living in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Sitting on his pontoon boat sipping a beer, Dahl said people have a right to have fun, but they need to keep it under control.
"I had 15 people on my boat the other day, and we had a great time. I'm drinking beer now, but I was drinking Gatorade on that day," he said. "I'm like everyone. The best day for me is to drink a cold beer and to see something naked…. But don't be so stupid."
Along the channel that runs underneath Lake Havasu's international landmark, the transplanted London Bridge, boaters dock en masse with others cruising through slowly to party, flirt and wade.
A thick cloud of engine exhaust results, and carbon monoxide emissions get so high that the Lake Havasu City Police Department twice closed the channel to all boat traffic during the Memorial Day holiday. The city recently installed carbon monoxide monitors in the channel.
Last year, before the monitors were in place, two Southern Californians drowned in the channel on holiday weekends, with the noxious air and alcohol use suspected as causes of death, said Lake Havasu City Police Lt. Dan Doyle.
"They can be drinking while hanging onto a boat one second, and under the water the next, and nobody really notices because there's so much going on in that channel," sheriff's spokesman Beavers said.
Law enforcement officials said they also are concerned about the river's inherent distractions for teenagers and children — wild tourists, speeding watercraft and breathtaking scenery — and blamed parents for not taking more precautions.
Deputies have stopped 10-year-olds driving personal watercraft, rented from local businesses that rely on parents giving their children's true ages.
"It's like parents giving their kids the keys to a motorcycle and letting them drive full speed through traffic on the 91 Freeway," Smith said. "They don't do it at home, but they do it out here."
The surging popularity of teak surfing and other towing sports, such as wakeboarding, resulted in a 38% increase in towing accidents from 2002 to 2003 in California, said David Johnson, spokesman for the California Department of Boating and Waterways.
Among the three states linked to the river's most popular spot, only Nevada has instituted a law requiring boat operators born after January 1983 to obtain an operator's certificate. The certificate is given for completion of a six- to eight-hour boating safety course approved by the National Assn. of State Boating Laws Administration.
"This was prompted by the fact that 80 to 85% of those involved in boating accidents never had training," said Fred Messman, boating law administrator for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
In California, a 1999 bill submitted by a boating task force would have required operators under age 40 to complete a course. It failed by veto, with then-Gov. Gray Davis saying he wasn't convinced the test would reduce accidents or improve boat operating skills.
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hink.

[Havasu Cig]

Originally posted by Moe_Havi
at Havasu is coming to an end. Too many drunks, too many cruds too many crashes, too much carbon monoxide, too many lake lice, too little police patience. Has anyone seen the article in the LA times on Havasu today? Not a pretty picture.
Moe
I hate to say it, but I agree with you. We have a house there and have only made one trip this year. We have been boating in the ocean instead and I am starting to think it is more fun then dealing with the BS at Havasu.
We will prbably wait until late Summer to start going out there. Late Summer through about November is a good time out there IMO.

[HavasuDreamin']

You know my pops and I were talking about this the other day. It is out of control when people are dying, and fights are breaking out regularly sending people to the hospital (or grave).
It is clear to me that people can't police themselves..........the gov. has too. This ruins it for the responsible peeps, but what are you going to do? Let this bullshit continue while pleading the "police yourself" approach?
I think it is going to get worse before it gets better. :(
Everyone going out, be safe over the long weekend.
HD

[Havasu_Dreamin]

Somehow we manage to still find places on the lake to get away from the crowds and have a good time. But yes, these problems are going to have a detrimentla effect. Too many idiots with the abililty to buy, or rent, a PWC that will go 70 MPH without any instructions on how to safely operate it. The same can be said for boats, exactly like the article says. Licsening is in the not too distant future, count on it.
Also, thank MTV for bringing some of the problems as well as the idiots from the hood now show up.
I'm not one to advocate an overabundnace of government regulation/enforcement, but if that is what it takes for people to learn what is and is not acceptable then so be it. Park 5 LE boats at the Sandbar, and Steamboat, and Copper, for all I care. Crack down BIG TIME and maye the riff-raff will get the picture and leave. Unfortunately, the actions we are seeing/reading of at the river are a direct result of the gradual degradation of society as a whole. :(

[HighRoller]

The surging popularity of teak surfing and other towing sports, such as wakeboarding, resulted in a 38% increase in towing accidents from 2002 to 2003 in California, said David Johnson, spokesman for the California Department of Boating and Waterways
:eek: Holy Crap! things must be getting out of hand if RD took a job with the Dept. of boating and waterways. Should we call him Sir, Officer RD, or Sherf Dave?:D

[Havasu Cig]

The Cops out there are part of the problem as well. They have some legitimate issues they could focus on that deal with public safety, but they seem to concentrate on enforcing some of the less important laws or City Codes.
I heard a guy was kicked out of the channel for his boat beaing 2' over the limit a couple weeks ago. The Cops should be jacking gangsters and others causing problems out there.
That's what happens when you have a small town mentality. If the Deputies from my town were there for a month doing enforcement alot of the problems would be dealt with. Everybody with a gang / prison tat would be jacked, boat searched ect... Make them feel like they are not welcome, and they will stop coming. My.02

[Havasu_Dreamin]

Originally posted by Havasu Cig
Make them feel like they are not welcome, and they will stop coming. My.02
I agree completely!

[TIBURON]

I hate to be told what to do by anyone, especially by city and state laws. But I have to agree that there needs to be some sort of regulation for boating. I've already had two guys scrape my boat cuz they don't know what the hell they're doing. Thank God they were only scrapes.

[TIBURON]

Originally posted by Havasu Cig
The Cops out there are part of the problem as well. They have some legitimate issues they could focus on that deal with public safety, but they seem to concentrate on enforcing some of the less important laws or City Codes.
I heard a guy was kicked out of the channel for his boat beaing 2' over the limit a couple weeks ago. The Cops should be jacking gangsters and others causing problems out there.
That's what happens when you have a small town mentality. If the Deputies from my town were there for a month doing enforcement alot of the problems would be dealt with. Everybody with a gang / prison tat would be jacked, boat searched ect... Make them feel like they are not welcome, and they will stop coming. My.02
Get some deputies from LENOX to go in there and clean things up.

[Havasu Cig]

Originally posted by TIBURON
Get some deputies from LENOX to go in there and clean things up.
Same concept...Some that are used to dealing with trash.;)

[Mrs. Psycho Squid]

Originally posted by TIBURON
I hate to be told what to do by anyone, especially by city and state laws. But I have to agree that there needs to be some sort of regulation for boating. I've already had two guys scrape my boat cuz they don't know what the hell they're doing. Thank God they were only scrapes.
I agree 100%. My husband was a passanger in a boat over Memorial Day weekend. They were in an accident which resulted in my hubbie having a broken hip. The driver that caused the accident had absolutley no business in a boat. It was his 3rd day in a boat and he made no attempt to avoid the accident. Just plowed head-on into oncoming traffic. I think the day is coming real soon where you will have to get a license to operate a boat and now after our experience I'm not opposed to it as I use to be.

[Mandelon]

I think you guys are over-reacting. People get in accidents every day all over the roads, some fatal. Nobody blinks an eye. I've passed them on the freeway, and hear about them on the radio. Do we need more street cops or highway patrol at every corner?
You just need to be careful, and if you are worried about the drunks and the crowds, don't go out on big weekends, or only go mid-week. There are tons of places to go that aren't crowded or dangerous.
People get stabbed at concerts, football games, (well Raider games anyway) there are fights at the beach, etc. You can't just stay home every day.......

[HavasuDreamin']

Originally posted by Havasu Cig
Everybody with a gang / prison tat would be jacked, boat searched ect... Make them feel like they are not welcome, and they will stop coming. My.02
It's called profiling. The problem as I see it...........is the gang bangers are only a small part of the problem as a whole. Correct me if I am wrong, but the kids getting beat up at the sandbar were not beaten by gang bangers. The guy that died last year at the sandbar was not beaten to death by a gang banger.
The problem is more to do with Joe Schmo next to you who has a $25K or $50K or $100K+ boat who really just doesn't give two shits about anyone else but himself. So he goes out with his crew and gets hammered and then starts shit with people trying to relax and have fun on vacation. After that he goes ripping down the lake passing a family towing a water skier within 10'. Then gets to the ramp and acts like he owns the place.
Dumb inconsiderate people who are loaded and have little boating knowledge let alone "river awareness" are the BIG problem. ..........the gang bangers are a smaller problem.
My $.02

[BarryMac]

Licensing boat operators is a great idea, I don't think we realize how many people will give up on the whole boating thing, after all they have to read a book and take a test. I am all for mandatory boat operator licenses, get the stupid people off of the water. Just my .02...
gjb

[Petrofied]

Mandelon, I don't think more cops is the answer but people should be able to operate their boat. In my opinion if you can't control it you should'nt drive it. An off weekend or mid-week trip should be for these people, Don't practice on a busy holiday weekend. My $ .02
MR.P. :eek:

[welk2party]

I have no problem getting a license to operate a boat. They already ask you for ID when you get pulled over anyway. I just don't want another reason for the government to start a new way to profit from the safety.
However, a liense will not prevent the idiots from beating up people and getting drunk.

[HavasuDreamin']

Originally posted by gottajetboat
Licensing boat operators is a great idea, I don't think we realize how many people will give up on the whole boating thing, after all they have to read a book and take a test. I am all for mandatory boat operator licenses, get the stupid people off of the water. Just my .02...
gjb
It may help, but I don't feel that will come anywhere close to solving anything. The most that will do is help with the renters. All you have to do is pass the test, then you can still be the same irresponsible asshole you were before you passed the test.
IMHO.........it is going to take major, major LE crack down before people will figure out that if you want to be a drunk, or reckless, or irresponsible punk, that you will go to jail without passing go. Havasu needs to follow the Palm Springs blue print for cracking down on dumbasses.

[BarryMac]

Originally posted by welk2party
I have no problem getting a license to operate a boat. They already ask you for ID when you get pulled over anyway. I just don't want another reason for the government to start a new way to profit from the safety.
Use these funds to pay for more LE, in that case I wouldn't mind paying for a license, I would just hate to see it go into some politicians pocket when the funds could be used in a much more constructive matter...
[/B][/QUOTE] However, a liense will not prevent the idiots from beating up people and getting drunk. [/B][/QUOTE]
I do agree with this statement, a license isn't going to turn Johnny Dipwad into a fine upstanding citizen, I would hope however that it would weed a lot of the Johhny Dipwads out...
gjb

[RacerX]

Originally posted by Havasu Cig
The Cops out there are part of the problem as well. They have some legitimate issues they could focus on that deal with public safety, but they seem to concentrate on enforcing some of the less important laws or City Codes.
I heard a guy was kicked out of the channel for his boat beaing 2' over the limit a couple weeks ago. The Cops should be jacking gangsters and others causing problems out there.
That's what happens when you have a small town mentality. If the Deputies from my town were there for a month doing enforcement alot of the problems would be dealt with. Everybody with a gang / prison tat would be jacked, boat searched ect... Make them feel like they are not welcome, and they will stop coming. My.02
Nobody ever thinks that what they are doing wrong is important enough for the cops to worry about. I hear that excuse all day long..."Don't you have anything better to do?" or "Aren't there any gang members killing somebody you could be jacking up?"
Most of the time, cops are dealing with the "core" issues that either cause the complaints or the issues that the citizens complain about. In my case, working in the San Diego beaches, ALCOHOL is our biggest problem. The (2) issues that people complain about the most when the bars let out are DRUNKS and people urinating in public. Can you guess what we focus on for the 2 hours around bar closing? I'm going to hear that crap all weekend long too when I'm writing alcohol violations over the 4th of July. My answer will be "whatever...press hard, there's 3 copies on that ticket"
It was no different when I was working in the ghetto my first 5 years. You jack up the druggies all day long and their excuse was the same..."I'm not hurting anybody by shooting heroin....isn't there a rapist out there you can deal with?"
You may not like it but High Roller is right. The best thing the cops could do out there is to chicken-$hit everybody at the Sandbar to their knees. That is the only thing that is ever going to change the behavior out there. I personally don't go there anymore because what has become "acceptable" is out of control....and most people on this board condone it as well.:mad

[TIBURON]

Originally posted by RacerX
Nobody ever thinks that what they are doing wrong is important enough for the cops to worry about. I hear that excuse all day long..."Don't you have anything better to do?" or "Aren't there any gang members killing somebody you could be jacking up?"
Most of the time, cops are dealing with the "core" issues that either cause the complaints or the issues that the citizens complain about. In my case, working in the San Diego beaches, ALCOHOL is our biggest problem. The (2) issues that people complain about the most when the bars let out are DRUNKS and people urinating in public. Can you guess what we focus on for the 2 hours around bar closing? I'm going to hear that crap all weekend long too when I'm writing alcohol violations over the 4th of July. My answer will be "whatever...press hard, there's 3 copies on that ticket"
It was no different when I was working in the ghetto my first 5 years. You jack up the druggies all day long and their excuse was the same..."I'm not hurting anybody by shooting heroin....isn't there a rapist out there you can deal with?"
You may not like it but High Roller is right. The best thing the cops could do out there is to chicken-$hit everybody at the Sandbar to their knees. That is the only thing that is ever going to change the behavior out there. I personally don't go there anymore because what has become "acceptable" is out of control....and most people on this board condone it as well.:mad
"to chicken-$hit everybody at the Sandbar to their knees"
I hear you and I can understand that its a stressfull career, but I have to disagree with you on this one. Most of us are law abiding and are even willing to help out by being good witnesses and whatever else, but to chicken-$shit everyone, I don't agree...
I know you wouln't like it if you were cited for some silly while off duty.