Boating - My Rules Don't Include Yours

Life is full of people, signs and laws, telling me what and what not to do. But I do find solace in being on the water.  On the water I can temporarily participate in a kind of anarchy. You may bring rules and conditions with you when you’re on your boat, but I don’t, and I don’t recognize your baggage. The really refreshing thing about this is that I get to be totally responsible for who I am and what I do – it’s never anyone else’s fault that I’m confused, angry, frustrated or not happy. I just make my own adjustments so there’s never a problem.

You can pass me to port or starboard or on whatever whistle you like, but don’t expect me to bless your decision on the VHF. I don’t care what speed you pass or how much wake you make  because I have made my boat wakeproof. I am courteous and tolerant so pretty much anything you do is OK by me unless you expect me to comply with your expectations or obey your rules – remember, on the water I don’t recognize any obligations, yours or anyone else’s. I’m out there to do my own thing on my own time. I run aground on my own without blaming inaccurate charts – I can find happiness waiting for a bridge to open no matter how long it takes without voicing my intentions on the radio – I gladly pay whatever price is asked for fuel when I need some – if I don’t like your marina, I don’t complain, I just don’t go back – if you want to be an ahole about passing, I let you – If I don't like what's going on around me I go someplace else - if the ICW traffic is uncomfortable, I go offshore - if you anchor too close I’ll move or we can raft.

I can get away with my unorthodox boating bliss now, but I know eventually the water will go the way of the land. “Important” boaters ultimately require strict laws, rules and conditions to make their lives totally predictable whether on land or on the water, and if things don’t go their way, they’ll need grounds to blame someone else. I know the day will come, but until then I’ll continue to just be responsible for my own joy/fate while I’m out on the water and let the VHF hails, horns, whining, gestures and complaints go unnoticed.