Opinion: A shame we need rules to spell out the obvious

Water skiers, Chris Carter (driving) and Gene Hollands enjoy Hunters Creek, but changes have been made to the local bylaw which could change that. Photo/file

Driving a boat in the harbour, in a lake or on a river is similar in many ways to driving a car.

In both cases you need your wits about you.

You need to be sensible, constantly aware of the risks around you and have the safety of yourself, passenger and other boaties or swimmers in mind.

You'd think that goes without saying, but sadly it seems many people forget the basics when they get out on the water.

The Bay of Plenty Regional Council adopted changes to the Navigation Safety Bylaw this week and some of the changes are just common sense.

The changes include the mandatory wearing of lifejackets on vessels 6-metres and under unless the skipper has assessed the risk and advised it is safe not to wear them; boaties will not be permitted to secure their boat to a mooring without permission of the owner; and for safety reasons, the Hunter's Creek ski area will be closed to ski traffic two hours either side of low tide.

I would have thought all the issues addressed in these changes were basic things boaties would do as a matter of habit.

Wearing lifejackets is a no-brainer.

Yes, there are times when you are anchored up fishing or soaking up the sun in a bay and you don't want to have to wear a lifejacket. But when you're on the move or crossing a bar and there is some risk involved, the skipper should be making sure everyone on the boat is wearing a lifejacket, just like the driver of a car makes sure everyone wears a seat belt.

As for tying up to a mooring that's not yours, isn't that just common sense?

Skiing in Hunter's Creek at low tide is another issue you'd think boaties would be able to assess on their own.

It's like jumping off a rock into the water, you check to make sure there is no hidden danger under the water before you jump.

In most cases there is enough water to ski safely at Hunter's Creek at any tide if you know where you're going and take into account how much water your boat draws.

If you stick to the channels you are fine, but if you have never been there before and try to tow a skier through at 50km/h without checking out how deep it is, you are going to run into trouble.

It's a shame we have to have rules which spell out the obvious.

Next time you're on the water, keep your wits about you and be sensible and you'll have nothing to worry about.