If you have ever found yourself boating around on any major waterway, you have no doubt seen the wake signs standing out of the water that almost look like the speed signs on our roadways. What are they and what do they mean?
A wake is a disturbance of the water resulting from a boat or jet ski moving through the water at high speeds. In other words, it’s the waves that are created by traveling through the water. Your vessel’s wake makes turbulence in the water that could impact other vessels, people, or nearby sea life. If you have ever stood on the beach and looked out at a fast-moving boat, the waves that it displaces are its wake.
When a watercraft creates a wake, it disrupts the water in such a way that it can create large waves that can be harmful to nearby animals and people. If multiple boats are creating large wakes in the same small area, it can result in a cacophony of waves that could make other vessels unstable or create large, amplified waves that can disrupt local marine life or wash up on shores or against waterfront properties.
This is why we have “No Wake” and “Slow Speed” zones. Let’s dive into what these zones mean to you when you are out on the water:
A “No Wake” zone means that boats must reduce to the slowest speed they can travel at while still maintaining the ability to steer and make forward progress. When vessels move at these speeds, they produce a minimum wake. These are common in crowded, narrow areas like channels or confined harbors.
In Slow Speed areas, you may move at a slightly faster clip, but you should still be maintaining a minimum of wake production. The Boat Florida Course site suggests that as a rule of thumb, if the bow of your boat is elevated above the water, then you are going too fast.
As we all live and this fabulous area called Leisure Beach and on various canals here's some highly suggested best practices with boats especially jet skis.
Lets take a look at jet skis since I own one and I was one of the first in the neighborhood to have 10+ years ago
Truth be told I got yelled at quite a bit the first 30 days of owning my jet ski I learn the hard way what a wake zone really ment and what jet ski can put out related to wakes.
Jet skis have a deep bow front to back, they also drag on the back end displacing a tremendous amount of water for what is usually an 11-foot vessel.
Soon as you start up and out on a jet ski, you take off like a race horse in the Kentucky Derby.... without throttling up!
They usually take off have an average speed of 10 + miles an hour at an RPM level of over 1,500 RPM's!
My particular Seadoo Jetski is actually called a Wake Edition so it’s going to leave a wake for the most part.
So this being said…. here are some humble suggestions by one of your neighbors who made all the mistakes corrected them and now lives in harmony with the neighborhood, nature and safety!
1.Do not throttle up at all until you get to the channel and go out (Golden Rule...that is by far the number one rule for safe boating all around with a jet ski)
2.Start up your jet ski and just steer.
I try to stay in the middle of the canal so that the wake is dispersed before comes near any floating docks or shoreline. In areas where there's homes & property on one side and mangroves on the other I tend to hug the mangrove side so less wake if any goes towards docks.
3. Use your side mirrors to check your wake.
4. Be disciplined, have fun and remember these rules are for the courtesy, care and safety of all and pls remember rule #1!
Hope this helps and all the best!
DO`C….