Rules Of The Road

The “Roads” are our waterways. It’s very important before you leave the dock you know where you’re going and what some of our signs mean.

No wake Zones: No wake zones are areas marked by signs that may read: MINIMUM WAKE IDLE SPEED. This means your vessel must be going very slowly and COMPLETELY SETTLED IN THE WATER. Also, you will see red and green signs (channel markers) THESE RED AND GREEN MARKERS ARE MARKING THE EDGE OF A SAFE CHANNEL. Additionally, they let you know if you are going out to, or returning from sea. When returning from the open sea keep the BUOY ON YOUR RIGHT SIDE.

Be aware when operating in a channel that this will be the most heavily boat trafficked area in the bay. STAY ALERT!

When crossing paths with another vessel always assume that you are the GIVE WAY VESSEL. This means that you must SLOW DOWN OR CHANGE COURSE. Try and stay away from larger vessels as they are bigger and may not see your vessel. To them you are small and hard to see from a distance! If you are being overtaken, meaning another boat is going around you MAINTAIN YOUR SPEED AND DIRECTION.

Always observe divers-down flags. These flags are marked by their red color and white diagonal stripe. This means that there is a diver under the water in this general area and you must SLOW TO IDLE (SLOW) SPEED IF YOU HAVE TO COME WITHIN 100 FEET IN A CHANNEL AND GO NO FASTER THAN IDLE SPEED WHEN OPERATING WITHIN 300 FEET OF A FLAG IN OPEN WATER. The general rule here is if you see a divers-down flag stay away from it, and slow down.

Should you find yourself in a shallow area or flat you must POLE OR WALK THE BOAT OR SKI OUT. You will notice a mud trail turned up in your wake if you are in a shallow area and must turn the PWC off immediately.

If ever you find yourself in a situation where you don’t know what to do stay clear of anything you may hit and consider yourself the give-way vessel. If you’re a first time boater make sure you give yourself a lot of room for error. there are boating etiquettes just like when you’re operating a car. Please consult your boat/pwc rental operator for any local guidelines or specific  local rules they want you to be aware of.