Etiquette for passing other boats on the water?

Ohh my.  That took a weird turn.  Even if true. 

Kayakers are kind of like the bicyclists of the water.

Most cyclists seem to want to stay alive and unharmed, obey traffic signs and lights, are courteous, use some amount of common sense. Some are assholes and seem to be oblivious of imminent catastrophe. Same with kayakers.

I imagine though that if everyone was smiles, a simple "get the hell outta my way or I'm gonna grind on this jetty and sink" would probably have solved the problem since they were oblivious to your situation.

Kayakers are kind of like the bicyclists of the water.

Most cyclists seem to want to stay alive and unharmed, obey traffic signs and lights, are courteous, use some amount of common sense. Some are assholes and seem to be oblivious of imminent catastrophe. Same with kayakers.

I imagine though that if everyone was smiles, a simple "get the hell outta my way or I'm gonna grind on this jetty and sink" would probably have solved the problem since they were oblivious to your situation.

Good comparison^ - if this happened to me I would have yelled loudly, probably with a couple of choice profanities thrown in for an instant a-hole effect

From what I've observed, I believe the proper etiquette when one boat passes near another is to raise a hand as high as possible, make a fist, then raise the middle finger. The other side usually responds in kind, or with the verbal equivalent...

I'd say that's standard operating procedure for Recc paddlers.  You should see the folks that hang out in the channel at the sc harbor mouth. It can get fun trying to slalom in between yaks a sail boats.

This should be mandatory reading for new yakkers......




Read the comments, golden....
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Great Reviews on the book!

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This screams Burning Man vehicle! 

At the risk of maligning kayakers, I will say that I assume many are just out for the day, in a plastic toy they don't own, in an area they are not familiar with, having a great time (or not), and not thinking much about contingencies. You can disapprove, but it doesn't change the situation much.

For the original poster, I understand your frustration, but you are perhaps expecting too much of people...which leads to disappointment. But it's okay for you to yell at them a bit, in a good natured sort of way, telling them you're coming through : )

A portion of our population are simply little school fish guppies. They gather in similar groups to give absolute meaning to their lives. They could care less about YOU! YOU are an OUTSIDER and rules only apply to their chosen GROUP.

You see this same behavior with a minority of bicyclists as well. YOU are simply an obstacle (in a car) to slow down or block! YOU are being PUNISHED "for the greater good"!

And you see the exact same disdain on the walking paths where THEY will walk side by side by side and make YOU walk over in the bushes.

You're dealing with sociology and group think. YOU need to praise them about how "special", "heroic" and "brave" they are for being out in their little guppy boats together....

Well Idiots come in power boats as well. We were being towed into Morro Bay. and behind another power boat. It was clear to see what was happening. The boat towing us signaled to the lead boat we didn't have power. and he pulled into dock blocking our entry. Making a simple task a pain in the ass. Just saying many people don't think or observe the whole picture.   

Just saying many people don't think or observe the whole picture.

Not to mention some are just assholes.

I think communication is key without that we will never know what the kayakers were thinking, maybe be they saw you struggling and were coming to assist then when they saw you were OK it was to late and didnt know where to go or couldn't change their line. Did you think about throwing out an anchor 15' off the rocks windy conditions with a fouled prop?

Yeah, there are a few right of way issues in that clip. 

David,

I had a roughly similar situation on Lake Natoma (near Sacramento). I was kayak bass fishing well away from any other boats/people while tied off on a sunken tree away from shore. I watched a kayak with two teenage girls in it come right toward me. I was wondering when they were going to turn away from me. They never did. Came paddling within a foot or two of my kayak and actually lifted my fishing line out of the water with their paddle as they tightly circled my boat. I could reach out and touch their boat easily. They TOTALLY ignored me. Didn't even acknowledge my existence as I quickly moved my fishing pole to avoid hitting them. It's very much like I was invisible. I was speechless. I just couldn't imagine people so disconnected with others or their environment.   

This was soon followed by other people on those stand up boards and other kayaks in a large group but at least they stayed 10 to 15 feet away from me this time. I was thinking maybe they were geo-caching (or whatever) and I happened to be fishing right on top of one of the way points or something. Never saw any GPS units though so I'll never know for sure.