On Jul 9, 4:09?am, Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:03:59 -0700, Chuck Gould

wrote:
I offer again my example from earlier in this thread. Joe Doaks has a
party of guests out for an afternoon cruise. Joe isn't drinking, and
in fact he's piloting the boat from the flybridge. Down below in the
salon, Mrs. Doaks is serving Margaritas to a couple guests of legal
drinking age. Is Joe Doaks a criminal? Should he be hauled into court
and made to answer for his behavior? In many states, certain boating
offenses cross reference to your vehicular driving license, so should
stone sober Joe's car insurance be cancelled or his premiums be
doubled because somebody else on his boat (well out of reach of the
skipper) had an alcoholic beverage?

How do you make the distinction between passengers and Captain? Do
the passengers have a sign on their backs that says "Passenger"?


I make the same distinction between the passengers, (who absolutely
should not drink to excess, would be better advised not to drink at
all underway, and whose behavior should *not* result in law
enforcement
action against the skipper of the boat), and the vessel operator that
a law enforecement officer would. Who is at the helm when the vessel
is first observed?

Highway example: A cop pulls a car to the side of the road in the wee
hours of a Sunday morning. Upon approching the vehicle, he or she
notes that there are six people inside the vehicle and that five of
them are behaving in a boisterous manner. There is absolutely no doubt
that nearly everybody in the car is seriously drunk. The driver is
asked to step out and demonstrate sobriety. The driver recites the
alphabet backwards, balances on one foot, touches his finger to his
nose, and blows "zero". To make it interesting, let's say the actual
owner of the car is one of the drunks ready to pass out in the back
seat. Has there been a crime committed? IMO, no. The designated driver
was acting responsibly and doing his or her job. Without the services
of the designated driver, there might have been five drunks in five
separate cars all swerving down the road after the bars closed.

Differences on the water: I don't edorse a designated driver approach
to boating. It's definitely safer and more prudent to have everybody
aboard sober enough to be of assistance if there is an emergency and/
or able to contribute to their own survival and rescue should somebody
fall overboard. The scenario where everybody aboard a boat is stinking
drunk except the skipper is an invitation for a disaster. However,
there's quite a gap between adult guests enjoying a couple of drinks
during the course of a summer afternoon and a "boatload of drunks".

And it does get complicated. Some people shouldn't drink at all, as
their ability to *stop* seems to disappear with the second or third
swallow and their behavior changes radically. Those who allow alcohol
to be served aboard a boat need to be aware of the condition of the
folks who are accepting such service and have the guts to say "I think
you've had enough until we get back to the dock" when that's
appropriate.

My solution is to target behavior that effects others. Being publicly
obnoxious is one such behavior. Operating a vessel or vehicle while
impaired is another. Stopping for a picnic lunch in the middle of a
hot afternoon and sipping a cold beer in the shade of an overhanging
tree won't harm anybody, particularly if the vessel operator has a
diet cola instead.




Look, I'm not totally convinced that the situation that originated
this discussion was reasonable - there is a point where enforcing the
law requires descretion and balance - I totally agree.

However, if there is a history of abuse in a particular area and the
users and bordering neighbors complain about same, then drastic
enforcement may be required as a warning.


Unfortunately, one neighbor complaining 100 times often gets the same
response as 50 neighbors all complaining twice.





I'm sure the cops would much rather be out doing other things than
bsting some poor stiff who had a Bud while paddling down the river.

I'm sure that we're in complete agreement on that issue. Particularly
since when several hundred people are stopped a few of them,
statistically, are likely to be off-duty cops. :-)