New Florida Boating Safety act

I'm not trying to make wake but with the abundance of new boat owners and the enormity of ignorance & disrespect that is congesting our waterways, boating courses with a certificate of completion should be mandatory.

There, I said it. Flame suit on.

You're right Pascal. I don't know the solution. Possibly equipping select, qualified mariners with paint guns to splatter these idiots?

Your traveling in a long (10+miles) winding stretch of the ICW with a fairly narrow channel. For the most part 25 in the channel. You look up and see a pontoon boat coming towards you. 12-14 people on board, 4-5 kids sitting on the front of the boat with their legs hanging over the front edge, and then as it gets closer you see the name of the boat rental place in big letters.

Couple that with high number of 40-50ft express cruisers who feel they absolutely need to make the bridge opening ahead, or just get to where they are going right now.

North of Sarasota Bay up to south side of Tampa bay. I avoid this stretch whenever possible, but sometimes don't have any choice. I transit at 6-8 knots top speed and just let the express cruisers back up behind me.

Note: I am not attacking express cruisers in general, I was just looking for some way to identify those boats who don't feel the need to manage their wake.

A good recession will fix some of the problems. A paint ball gun isn't a bad idea either. Had a 5 engine midnight express run up our stern with light bar glaring last night. Loud music accompanied their poor driving. To drunk to realize their errors. Daddy must be proud.

This is a good start. I m sure a percentage of those that take the course will learn something. In our neck of the woods, the course requirement has been in effect for some time now with good results. The second part of the solution is enforcement. During the boating season, which is short by your standards, has on-water enforcement seven days a week from 8 am to 3 am and almost round the clock on weekends and during special events. During the second year of covid with lots of new boat owners, it was not uncommon to see marine units go right into the marina to show the flag, so to speak, to let people know they are willing and able to write tickets and arrest people and seize boats which they have the power to do. At the beginning of each season, the enforcement unit publicly announces they are out and about, and if the rules are not followed, you will be charged, lose your ability to operate a vessel etc. and possibly go to jail. Seems to work pretty well from what I have seen being on the water. Kids hanging their feet over the rail of the boat. That's a careless operation charge, along with an appearance in court in front of a judge. The slow zones at times see them running radar from the larger craft with smaller craft writing tickets at the beginning of the season and at times throughout. And I m ok with strict enforcement; it works and makes for a more enjoyable time on the water.

I've been saying that for decades, so I should be burned down to the ground by now.
On the E side of the Pond, in the UK for instance no qualification at all is required to helm boats up to 24m LLL (Load Line Length).
Which is a tricky way of measuring length, but in practice means that some boats up to 100 feet or so can be built to fit inside this limit, and with no power restrictions.
OTOH, they require a driving license for a 3-wheels moped limited to 28mph. How silly is that?

That said, of course Pascal is right in pointing out that a driving license can be obtained also by idiots.
But I would still prefer to think that behind the helm of a 40kts Pershing 9X there is someone who had to make a bit of effort to pass an exam, rather than just sign a big check to buy the thing...!

An example of typical south Florida driving habits:

These crazy boat stories are magnified in South Florida but happen up and down the coast. South Carolina, I recently called a slow vessel ahead ($2M trawler) to arrange for a slow pass two whistles met with, er ah... silence

Sorry but lost a ton of respect for coast guard recently. Coming back from Virginia key with tender in tow get pulled over coming in hillsboro inlet, was first day of lobster season. Made us stop in middle of channel, fast out going tide. Insisted we do safety check there not inside icw. I finally said we're going thru bridge like it or not. Thru bridge and they come alongside again, this time smashing into port corner causing thousands in damage. Most officers on my boat are tattooed head to toe and proud to show it with sleeves rolled high. One particular officer with a moonshine bottle with xxxx tattooed on his bicep is taking selfies. If this is what the us government is letting through the academy we're in big trouble. I'll save myself next time my boat sinks.