I am trying to restrain myself...

... oh-oh! It isn't working........


By all means, calculate your fuel to the nearest tablespoon.

After you've been in the water for a couple of hours hanging onto a jet ski, insist to any prospective rescuer that you're fine. That's why you were signaling, right?

He reminds me of a joke I heard many years ago: To civilians, it's 6 p.m.; to Army soldiers, it's 1800; to Naval seamen, it's four bells; to Marines, the big hand is on the twelve and the little hand is on the six.

Sorry, Marines!

Sue

Thoughts:

-Walkie-talkie to your friends boat? (10-35 mile range over water)

-spare gas in bottle? (bottle $10 gas $4 getting home safe? Priceless)

At least when sea kayaking, you don't run out of fuel so abruptly and you are a little less dependent on technology. Too bad you can't paddle a jet ski

I'll do some more arm chair quarterbacking...

I've been jet skiing. The only jet skiing I'm familiar with is having fun within a particular area. It sounds like this guy used the jet ski for non-trivial transportation. Is that common in that area near Catalina Island? That sounds like a dumb thing to do in the ocean. After all, it is the ocean, not a lake.



The article says he was outside of visual and radio contact from his friends (at least their radios). Also, in my opinion, a "fun" jet ski trip that requires spare fuel is a trip that should not be taken.

I don't know if it is, but there are supposed to be good surfing waves on the windward side. Maybe he was doing that to see more of the island? It's not well "road'd" to travel.

Not having ridden any jet skies (though I'd love to try once), I am still pretty certain that their cargo capacity is virtually nil.


My impression is that jet skis have the serious drawback that if you loose engine power your only option is to hang around while slowly sinking, hoping and praying that you'll be rescued before actually sinking, drowning or becoming hypothermic. Jet skis probably won't become submarines, but will sink partially - and make a really lousy life raft. Plan accordingly.


Evidently, he did have several backup plans for motor failure, including radio and flares. Those failed him. Electronic gear fails. A PLB as a backup to his radio would make very much sense. So would not riding alone. But having a backup plan, including water proof radios, flares and such makes him miles beyond your typical incompetent merciless-lost-at-sea nilly-willy.


Although I don't consider jet skis seaworthy vessels, I am in no position to say that he shouldn't have done what he did. We need to appreciate the fact that some people will accept higher risk levels than others. I'm fine with that, as long as they don't whine about it when things go wrong. He clearly doesn't sound like a whiner to me.