Lake Martin Topics: WSMS - who says it has?

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	Name:	WSMS -
	Subject:	WSMS - who says it has?
	Date:	4/28/2006 5:33:43 PM

Here's a post on this very topic from someone else:
"I don't know, but I do know this: up until about 15-20 years ago, everyone always stopped to help. Looking out for each other was just one of those things that we did on Lake Martin. I NEVER had to row home, drift home or swim home; even if I saw just ONE boat, that boat stopped to help.

Likewise, I never passed anyone who appeared to need help without stopping, and I would up towing plenty of boats myself.

But, that changed in the last two decades; if you don't believe me, then you are calling babygirl a liar, since her post illustrates what I am saying. SOMETHING in the attitude of Lake Martin boaters changed. Coincidentally, this attitude shift occurred at the same time that big boats became a more common sight on the lake. Maybe that's a coincidence.

Then again, maybe it isn't; one complaint that people have about those in big boats is that they seem to have a "You don't matter to me" attitude; wouldn't that same attitude be held by someone who refuses to help a fellow boater who is in distress?"
..........................................................................................................

His experience is similar to mine. From my first days on the lake (in the early 1960's) until the late 1980's, I was NEVER stranded for any longer than it took for the FIRST boat to come by. NEVER. And, it was always the first boat; NO ONE ever passed me by. NOT ONE SINGLE BOAT.

The first of the special big-boat slips that I recall was at Kowaliga, in 1987. The first time I ever had a boat pass me by was a couple of years later. And in 1994, I broke down near Sand Island, and swam my boat to Kowaliga... on a SATURDAY... in JUNE. Do you think I saw any other boats that I tried to flag down? You bet I did. Do you think any boats passed me while I was SWIMMING to Kowaliga, towing a boat behind me? You bet they did. Did ANY of those boats stop? Not one.

Again-- before the big boats invaded, I was always helped by the FIRST BOAT I saw. Just a few years later, I was passed by dozens of boats.

Am I saying that all big boat owners are inconsiderate jerks? No I am not, though I'm sure someone will try to twist my words to make it sound like that; I'm getting used to the tactic. But I am saying that, since the time the big boats first appeared, the "helpful boater" is a rarer breed than it was before.

Now, as far as offering the cold hard statistics that you crave, I doubt they exist. So, we can only go by personal experiences. I've told you mine, I copied longtimer's from an earlier post, and we're all responding to babygirl's post. That's three people right there who will attest that the first boat doesn't always stop to help.

But I'm interested in hearing everyone's experiences. One thing, though-- if you've only been on the lake since 1999, don't try to tell us how things were here in 1981, 1971 or 1961; leave that to the people that were actually here, OK?