THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, July 29, 1996 TAG: 9607290040
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 142 lines
On a sunny Sunday morning off Chesapeake Beach, officers Ralph Williamson and Mark Chambers wheeled their fast, powerful police boat toward the beach.
``I'm going to write that guy a ticket for operating at high speed close to the beach,'' Williamson said as the operator of a personal watercraft moved close along the shore.
The next thing Roger Guldenpfennig heard as he walked toward shore was a blast from the boat's horn and Williamson's booming voice: ``Skipper, please get on your boat and come out here where I can talk to you.''
The day seemed perfect for jumping wakes and doing doughnut turns on jet skis. But it wasn't going so well for Guldenpfennig, 38, who lives near the Bay.
He was charged with violating Virginia Beach code, Section C-120, which states that operators of personal watercraft, or jet skis as they are widely known, must approach or leave any beach on a straight line at slow speed, beginning 100 yards from shore.
Not many PWC owners seem to know that. Even though the majority apparently use their craft sensibly, the ones who don't are giving police and coastal residents across the United States a boatload of trouble.
Some places have banned them.
Sunday afternoon near the 64thStreet Narrows at First Landing State Park, a husband and wife who had rented two jet skis ran into each other, police said. The woman's Sea Doo hit a wave and she lost control, running into her husband's craft. She was in surgery Sunday night at Virginia Beach General Hospital. The hospital reported that she was in critical but stable condition.
The fast and widely popular jet skis make up only 5 percent of the registered boats in Virginia, but are involved in one-third of the accidents. Last year, their numbers grew 46 percent, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries reported.
They generate a disproportionate number of complaints, police say. Residents of communities along the Bay, the Oceanfront, the Eastern Branch of the Elizabeth River, Rudee Inlet and North Landing River complain about noise and what they see as unsafe practices, including wake-jumping, splashing and riding too close to swimmers.
The craft are capable of speeds up to 70 mph. They're as dangerous as they are fun, police and users say.
``You get a little wild once in a while and tear it up,'' Guldenpfennig admited, then added ruefully with a glance at the officers, ``And you pay the penalty.''
There are far more conventional boating accidents - and the behavior of such boaters is not considered any better, police said. But the jet skiers, especially those who jump other boaters' wakes and ride close to shore, are the ones attracting attention these days.
``It's only a matter of time - a kid's going to get run over one of these days,'' said Darryl Stubbs, president of the Chesapeake Beach Civic Association. ``They come in and out anywhere they please, trying to impress people. They come in at 20 or 30 mph and ride right up on the beach.''
Few dispute that PWCs are fun. ``It's exhilarating to me, a stress pill,'' said Marilyn Dorsey, president of the Tidewater Personal Watercraft Association. ``There's wind in your hair, water in your face. It's a great feeling. We have a blast on them.''
Unlike regular boating, there is a minimum age for PWCs: 14 years. Beyond that, there are few safety or licensing requirements. Dorsey's group favors stricter controls. ``You don't put a child in a car without giving them some lessons.''
``They're going crazy,'' said Lt. Kenneth M. Lowe, head of the Beach's Marine Patrol. ``While they're a lot of fun, people are not thinking of them as boats. They have no training and they're getting out there with high-powered vehicles and the vehicles are getting away from them.''
Four years ago near Chesapeake Beach, a man was killed when his girlfriend's PWC struck him in the head. Recently, a jet skier was charged with boating under the influence after his passenger fell off and the driver kept going; he was two miles out into the Bay before realizing his friend was missing. The friend was saved by the Coast Guard.
In Norfolk, police are not having as much trouble as in Virginia Beach. Sgt. Scott Litchfield, head of the city's Harbor Police, said the jet skiers' image has suffered.
``But I don't know if it is totally justified,'' he said. ``Just because a guy is jumping a wave doesn't mean he's being reckless. It depends on how close it is. They're designed to have fun, and jumping waves is part of the fun.''
Virginia Beach and Norfolk each have two PWCs for patrolling. ``Every weekend, it's a battle up here at Lynnhaven,'' said Officer Steve Marshall, as he zoomed away from the 64th Street boat ramp. At the no-wake zone near the inlet, he stopped and watched another jet skier suddenly slow down.
``If we weren't here, he'd still be going,'' he said.
``They don't know what the rules are. The biggest complaint when we write a summons is, `We didn't know.' ''
Police said the problem with personal watercraft is that users develop a form of tunnel vision. So intent are they on the experience that they lose sight of other jet skiers, other boaters or swimmers, and turn rapidly without looking.
Most accidents are not reported, police said. They include head, leg and arm injuries, often from being thrown and falling on their PWCs.
At the 64th Street ramp, Chet Silcox, 34, wore a heavy bandage around his chin Sunday. The day before he rolled over when going across a boat's wake and fell against his boat's hand break. The injury required seven stitches.
``It's fast and it's fun,'' he said. ``I can stay out there and do doughnuts all day long. If you did that on a parking lot, you'd get arrested.''
Some, like Chris Nelms, are glad to see the police on the Bay. Nelms, 29, who usually works six days a week for UPS, comes out every Sunday and is bothered by the reckless behavior he sees by boaters speeding near the beach.
``When you guys come around, it does seem to get a little more pleasant,'' he said to police before he zoomed off. ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
BETH BERGMAN
The Virginian-Pilot
Roger Guldenpfennig is ticketed for going too fast near shore by
Officer Ralph Williamson off Chesapeake Beach.
Virginia facts
. . . There were 10,328 personal watercraft in the state at the end
of 1995 - up 46 percent from 1994.
. . . There were 180 reported boating accidents in 1995 and 23
fatalities - one of those on a PWC.
. . . Personal watercraft account for just under 5 percent of total
registered boats but are involved in one-third of the accidents.
THE LAWS ON PERSONAL WATERCRAFT
Virginia's rules
Operators must be at least 14 years old.
Operators and passengers must wear approved flotation devices.
Operators must attach cutoff lanyard if craft is equipped with a
cutoff device.
PWCs may not be used before sunrise or after sunset.
They must be equipped with a U.S. Coast Guard-approved fire
extinguisher.
They may not carry more passengers than the craft's rated
capacity.
Virginia Beach rules
No one may operate a personal watercraft closer than 50 feet from
shore, a pier or a bulkhead, or within 100 yards of a designated
swimming area, except when approaching or leaving the shore.
Operators must go straight in or out from shore and do so no
faster than necessary to maintain control.
KEYWORDS: JET SKIS by CNB