ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607290090
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
The number of personal watercraft in the United States is nearing the 1 million mark, and on some Saturdays and Sundays you can get the feeling that every last one of them is buzzing across Smith Mountain Lake.
It makes the message on Webster Marine Center's billboards along Virginia 122 ring true: ``Everybody is Doing It!''
``You look in about every direction and you will see them, all over the lake,'' said Sgt. Steve Pike, a state game warden who was patrolling the 20,000-acre impoundment on a recent Saturday afternoon.
Few subjects generate as much diverse opinion as these craft, with their catchy names - Jet Ski, Waverunner, Tigershark, WetJet, WaveVenture.
They are fast, fun, tight-cornering and as refreshing as a tall glass of lemonade on a hot July day.
That's one side.
The other is less complementary: They are disruptive, dangerous and driven by people who care little about laws or other users of the water. That's what some people will tell you.
The New York Times recently reported the PWC controversy ``may be the recreational equivalent of smoking vs. nonsmoking in public places.''
What do enforcement officers think?
``I don't think it is the watercraft itself that deserves a bad rap,'' Pike said. ``It is the inexperience of the people who purchase them or who rent them.''
Some first-time users simply climb aboard and take off with little more preparation than, ``How do you start this thing?'' The result can be tragic, particularly at Smith Mountain Lake, which accounts for more boating accidents than any other body of water in the state. Through mid-July, there had been 24 boating accidents reported on the lake, one of them a fatality, Pike said. Thirteen involved PWCs, including the fatality.
``We have a higher volume of traffic out here on the weekends than any of the other bodies of water do,'' he said. ``The combination of the higher volume of traffic and the inexperience of boaters results in accidents.''
Leslie Tucker-Guilfoyle is one of a growing number of boaters who believes mandatory training should be required of PWC operators.
``There are irresponsible people who are operating these watercraft,'' she told board members of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. ``The need for education is evident. Very few will educate themselves unless it is required by law.''
Most personal watercraft operators, she said, lack boating knowledge, lack common sense and lack knowledge of the PWC itself.
Guilfoyle, who lives in Richmond, became an activist for mandatory training following an incident in June when the safety of her husband, Scott, was threatened on Lake Chesdin. Scott was on skis when a PWC operator began jumping the wake of his boat. When Scott hit the water, the PWC operator cut across his tow rope twice, then began arguing with Leslie when she pointed out the danger of such conduct.
``I remember thinking about a week after the fact that if she [the PWC operator] had touched my husband, I would have killed her. I was that upset. That's when I decided I'd better do something or it will only get worse. I see myself taking it [mandatory training for all boaters] as far as it needs to go.''
The Smith Mountain Lake Association has a task force working on recommendations that address safe boating and noise abatement. The schedule calls for the work to be completed in time to be reviewed by area legislators before the 1997 General Assembly in January. Personal watercraft are being discussed.
``The PWC is marketed and sold as a toy,'' said Guilfoyle, who is looking for help from organizations like the lake association. ``The PWC is not a toy.''
Much the same kind of statements were voiced several years ago when controversy engulfed the off-road vehicle industry, resulting in regulations that outlawed three-wheel ORVs. Snowmobiling also took some hard hits until manufacturers lowered the noise level of their units and operators joined self-monitoring clubs that promoted responsible operation.
``I have no doubt that as the first generation of PWC users matures, many of the problems we're facing today will go away,'' said John Birkenbine, the executive director of the Personal Watercraft Industry Association.
The skyrocketing growth of PWCs - sales jumped 41 percent last year and accounted for 36 percent of all watercraft sold - has lured people into the sport who are not traditional boaters, Birkenbine said.
That fact is the source of many of the problems, Pike said.
``A lot of people don't realize that personal watercraft are classified as motor boats and fall into the same rules and regulations that your 18- to 20-foot boats fall under,'' he said.
In addition, there are rules that apply specifically to PWCs: Operators must be at least 14 years old, must wear an approved personal flotation device, must be equipped with an engine cut-off lanyard and may not operate their craft after sunset or before sunrise.
During Pike's recent patrol on Smith Mountain Lake, he and a fellow officer, Shannon Smith, stopped several PWCs that failed to display a registration decal as required by law. Most of the craft were so new there hadn't been time for the decal to arrive from Richmond. And most of the operators were new to the sport.
``We turned 40 and we decided to enjoy life,'' said Pat Elmore, who was aboard a new Yamaha with Guy Harman. The two live in Princeton, W.Va., and have been driving to the lake every weekend. Neither had taken a safety course, but that hadn't resulted in any problems, said Harman, who has had experience on a motorcycle.
``It is about like riding a motorcycle in the snow,'' he said.
Even experienced boaters must learn that when the throttle on a PWC is released the engine is cut off and it is difficult to steer, Pike said. Many boat dealers and PWC rental shops offer basic instruction before a new operator takes off.
The complaints Pike often hears about PWCs are the result of fast operation in no-wake zones and jumping wakes of other boats. Even the 30-foot Coast Guard Auxiliary safety patrol boat doesn't escape the wake jumping. On a cruise near Hales Ford Bridge, the boat attracted three yellow rental PWCs that buzzed its wake causing the uniformed auxiliary members to wave them off out of fear the riders would be struck by another boat.
Auxiliary members attribute such incidents to a lack of experience and failure to understand the sport's inherent risks. Training can solve many of the problems, and it doesn't necessarily need to be mandatory, auxiliary officers say.
``My biggest fear right now is that the continuing rising personal watercraft accidents will cause the government to overreact, rather than saying this is something new and we simply have to get people acclimated to the fact that safe operation is the responsible thing to learn,'' said Al Perdue, who commands a new Coast Guard Auxiliary Search and Rescue Detachment at Smith Mountain Lake. ``I can see benefit to them [PWC]. I have ridden them myself. They are a lot of fun. But if we keep having high accident numbers, someone in the legislature is going to pick up on it and say, `This is something that needs to be addressed.'''
Auxiliary members, along with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the U.S. Power Squadron, actively support voluntary safety training.
Boating safety courses are well-attended, said Paul Howell, an auxiliary member and boating safety coordinator for the game and fish department.
``A lot of insurance companies are telling boaters, especially personal watercraft operators, that they need to take a safety course,'' Howell said. Nearly 900 boaters in the Smith Mountain-Roanoke region took training last year. In recent classes, one-quarter of the participants were PWC owners, he said.
``We can all ride them and enjoy them, and the dealers can make money and the people who rent them can make money,'' Perdue said, ``but we have to get accidents under control.''
LENGTH: Long : 173 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY Staff 1. Game wardens issue a citation to aby CNBpersonal watercraft operator on Smith Mountain Lake who failed to
display a registration decal. 2. photo. color.