The Summer Time Traffic on the Lake can be Dangerous
We are hitting the peak traffic time on Guntersville, between pleasure boats and jet skiers and fisherman; every day can be an adventure. Being a victim of a boat accident many years ago I thought I would give you some ideas on how to avoid some of these issues.
The first thing I will tell you is to expect the unexpected, most of today's boaters have no idea on how fast a boat approaching you at 60mph can be. You're a safe distance away and all of a sudden the boat or Jet Ski approaching you is on top of you. You need to understand that this is going to happen so when you see that guy at some distance away, be aware that in a split second he can be on top of you, yield and turn away early in the approach. Your not playing chicken, being the first to give is not a bad thing.Fisherman this time of year, fishes off the bank several hundred yards especially on points where creeks seem to meet. Sitting on a point where boaters come from 2 sides can be very troublesome to an approaching boater. You have to realize that from the approaching boat you appear quite some distance from the bank, and that approaching boater cannot see around the other side, he will most definitely cut between you and the bank. Your sitting there fishing thinking this guy just cut me off and maybe he did, but when you approach a point the distance looks a whole lot farther away than maybe you are. Prepare for the fact that he is going to do this, hope for the best but prepare for the short angle and remember that his approach was tight but it could have been worse if he tried to turn away to late, because at today's speeds turning may not have been a good option. The boater approaching you needs to remember that you are closer than it appears and yield early to be safe.