Well......it happened again! :(

[sparky30]

When in bigger water I tag along with my 18 foot seayak.........as least there's something big to come up near, and if they hit it - I have the law on my side as it's an unpowered vessel and they have to manouver around it.......hopefuly if hit it does enough damage to identify them (or even better let me participate in their rescue.....so they feel guilty, charged, and thankful.........)

Good idea.. but.. I think the Canada shipping act is clear about leaving a vessel (your seayak) unattended...Its a definite no-no..
Although you may be able to argue that point, since you are still attached to it with a teather.. LOL
Do you display a dive flag on the seayak?

 

[Groundhog246]

Where does it say you can't leave a moored vessel unattended? Look along the shores of the lake. Lots of cottages, homes with boats moored out front. And under their definitions there is no difference between moored and anchored. There is a rule about mooring in a marked channel.

 

[JJ1]

it's not moored - it's attached to me and therefore still under my control (cause it follows me around) and yes there's a 2x3 foot dive flag on it.

My only concern is that some nimrod will think "SCORE a free kayak - and take off with me on the end of a kayak attached to his boat.......

 

[Ontario Diver]

Even if the find the boat, I'm not sure what law they could pin him with.

Manslaughter.

What I worry will happen, is the government won't pass Dive Flag legislation, or improve enforcment. There a lot of influential boaters, so instead they'll take the simpler and cheaper route and legislate where and when we can dive. They'll keep us away from channels, docks, etc. Probably restrict us to Toby and chartres from places like Kingston and Brockville.

Good point.

 

[sparky30]

Where does it say you can't leave a moored vessel unattended? Look along the shores of the lake. Lots of cottages, homes with boats moored out front. And under their definitions there is no difference between moored and anchored. There is a rule about mooring in a marked channel.

I don't think a vessel tied to a diver constitutes a mooring or anchor.
The Canada Shipping Act would apply..
Personally I think towing a kayak is a good idea.. They are hard to miss..however, I wouldn't bet the farm on it in court..
Have you ever had someone come up to take a closer look at what must look like an abandoned kayak drifting by? Just curious..If I saw a boat adrift, without driver, I might be inclined to take a closer look.. Your dive flag might deter some people..

 

[Scuba Duffer]

As a boater and a diver on Lake Simcoe, here's a bit of perspective.

Lake Simcoe is a big lake. On a Saturday or Sunday, it is extremely choppy simply from boat wakes. I operate a 32ft cruiser and no one would respect a dive flag more than I. That however does not change the fact that most flags cannot be seen until you need to make a hard evasive manouver to avoid them. On a calm day, not a problem - they can be seen for a long way. But this weekend was both windy and choppy. There were a ton of boats out there stirring it up - I know - I was one of them. Put a dive flag between 1 foot swells and it becomes almost non visible. As mentioned, approach one either dirctly downwind or up wind and you won't see it.

I will be willing to bet the people operating the boat don't even know what happened. If you have been in a boat at any appreciable speed, you know how loud the wind noise and engine noise is. You could hit something and very easily never know it.

If the boater saw the flag and kept going, or, if they know they hit something and kept going - then yes - lock them up for life. I suspect however they were completely oblivious to the event.

When we dive Simcoe, or anywhere else for that matter, we fly a minimum of 3 flags from our boat. One on the bow, one on the antenna, and a 4ft x 2ft one displayed from the radar arch. Then, we only ascend and descend directly under our boat.

Shore diving Lake Simcoe on a weekend is not a good idea and should not be done by anyone. Even any other times of the week, Big Bay Point and The Morrison are VERY dangerous dives. You are diving a lake that has become a meca for recreational boating...and that is dangerous.

You can make all the comments you want about how you should be able to safely dive Simcoe at any time, but, that doesn't change the reality that it is a life risking endevour. Very sadly, this weekend proved that.

 

[scubagirl15]

As a boater and a diver on Lake Simcoe, here's a bit of perspective.

Lake Simcoe is a big lake. On a Saturday or Sunday, it is extremely choppy simply from boat wakes. I operate a 32ft cruiser and no one would respect a dive flag more than I. That however does not change the fact that most flags cannot be seen until you need to make a hard evasive manouver to avoid them. On a calm day, not a problem - they can be seen for a long way. But this weekend was both windy and choppy. There were a ton of boats out there stirring it up - I know - I was one of them. Put a dive flag between 1 foot swells and it becomes almost non visible. As mentioned, approach one either dirctly downwind or up wind and you won't see it.

I will be willing to bet the people operating the boat don't even know what happened. If you have been in a boat at any appreciable speed, you know how loud the wind noise and engine noise is. You could hit something and very easily never know it.

If the boater saw the flag and kept going, or, if they know they hit something and kept going - then yes - lock them up for life. I suspect however they were completely oblivious to the event.

When we dive Simcoe, or anywhere else for that matter, we fly a minimum of 3 flags from our boat. One on the bow, one on the antenna, and a 4ft x 2ft one displayed from the radar arch. Then, we only ascend and descend directly under our boat.

Shore diving Lake Simcoe on a weekend is not a good idea and should not be done by anyone. Even any other times of the week, Big Bay Point and The Morrison are VERY dangerous dives. You are diving a lake that has become a meca for recreational boating...and that is dangerous.

You can make all the comments you want about how you should be able to safely dive Simcoe at any time, but, that doesn't change the reality that it is a life risking endevour. Very sadly, this weekend proved that.

So...when speed boaters are anywhere, that means no one else is entitled to safely enjoy the same area...?

Why would boats need to come to 50 feet of the dock where that fateful dive allegedly occurred? If conditions are bad, isn't it possible for speed boats to check their speed?

Please don't misunderstand me: I'm not trying to start a flame here, just getting frustrated at the sense that might is right....

 

[FreeFloat]

Some area have designated "swimming areas" marked off by floating buoys-on-a-string kind of like the sort pools use for lane markers. Due to the popularity of Big Bay Point as a local swimming hole I admit I'm a little surprised not to see something like that set up.

Then again, it seems to be a popular fishnig spot too, and I've seen sometimes a dozen lures wedged firmly in the divers' main line-out to depth......... as well as people casting in the direction of submerged divers

 

[Seabear70]

If the boater saw the flag and kept going, or, if they know they hit something and kept going - then yes - lock them up for life. I suspect however they were completely oblivious to the event.

Prove it.

Prove that the boater knew what he was doing.

Prove that he saw the flag.

Prove that he knew what it meant.

You will have to prove all of that and more in an American court, and you will have to prove it to the point where no one doubts it.

They are well protected, I doubt anyone's ever been convicted of vehicular manslaughter in a boat in this country.

 

[starfish365]

Last weekend we were witness to what could have been several close calls. We'd moored out water in approx. 8ft of water and were swimming around in the water nearby. We are in the immediate vicinity of a very busy beach with people actively swimming in the shallows and back and forth between their boats.

Skidoers were racing each other back and forth between the moored boats and the beach in about 6ft of water. Now tell me these people care about others and the potential hazard they present just by being in the adjacent waters to a beach. There was a girl in the water who was expressing her concern about being hit. Her boyfriend didn't seem concerned at all. "Dont worry they'll see you".....ya ok....