What are people thinking?
I have come to believe that many people have a water activated stupid switch. I'm sure that everyone on this board could share a dozen or more stories about stupid things they've seen people do on the water. I just had to share this one.
So I'm pulling up to the boat ramp this Satuday at Canyon Lake to pull my boat out. There's a walkway extending out onto the water on the right side of the ramp as I'm pulling up. My plan is to dock along the right side, tie up, and get the trailer. But the problem is that a dozen kids are jumping off the walkway and playing in the water right there. I continue to pull up, and they continue to play undetered by the approaching boat. The adults in the water don't seem to care either. As I'm jockeying my throttle trying to stay in position about 3 feet from the dock (so I don't run over anyone) the kids continue to jump off the dock right in front of me. So I finally yell at them that they can't swim at the boat launch and that they all need to move to the shore. The kids and the adults pause, look at me, and then continue to do what they were doing. I finally get enough space on the end of the walkway to nose my boat in and tie off the bow. I jump out, snake my way through the kids to get to shore, and find the first adult who's standing with their feet in the water. I said, "I'm not trying to be a jerk, but you and these kids can not swim here. You can't swim or play at the boat launch and everyone needs to move. Some kid is gonna get run over by a boat and get cut up by a prop." She's said, "I'm only responsible for this one." Pointing to a little girl about 6 years old that was standing in the water close to her. Then she just turned away. So I turn aound and look to the water to find the some more adults. I spots the two other adults in the water, but now they and all of the kids have moved over to the other side of the walkway and are swiming directly on the ramp. The are wading and swimmin right on top of the concrete slab going into the water. WTF?
I decide to go get my trailer and deal with it after I back down. As I'm backing down the ramp, a few of the kids are getting out of the water and walking straight up the ramp at my trailer. They are young, like 6-8. The adults are watching this and do nothing. So I just continue to back down, kinda acting like I don't see anyone, just to see if anyone will say, "Holy shit, I'm about to get run over!" I take it easy, because I really don't want to get close to any of the children or take any chances whatsoever. No one seems to care. The kids part at the last second so I can get into the water. Problem is that as my wheels are entering the water, there's still about 5 or 6 kids in the water on the ramp, and the 2 adults are with them. They are like 5ft behing my trailer, in the water, on the ramp. So I stop the trailer and get out. Now the adults are walking up the ramp and out of the water. I stop them and give them the lecture. I started again with "I'm not trying to be a jerk" but at that point I didn't care. I pointed to the sign that was 5ft away that said "no swimming" and told them it was for their safety and more importantly for the kids safety. I told them that one of their children was going to get run over by a boat or trailer or get cut in two. They just shrugged, smiled, and walked away. WTF? They were definitely parents of a few of the kids and certainly responsible for all of them as they all left together.
On the way out of park, I grabbed the first park ranger and told him the story. He he headed down to the ramp and said he'd start patrolling it more often. What the hell are people thinking?
