So this is a stupid guilty pleasure of mine. I enjoy watching the weekly videos from Miami Boat Ramps and Boats vs. Haulover Inlet. Basically both channels are from the Miami area. Miami Boat Ramps just has a camera guy filming and critiquing as people put boats in and out at a very busy public boat ramp. It is hilarious and endlessly entertaining. Boats vs. Haulover focuses on a notoriously sketchy inlet that boats have to navigate to get to the ocean…and depending on conditions and currents…it can be an exciting affair to watch.
Ah yes, “Boat Ramp Bloopers”. When I was doing the charter fishing thing, from my boat, I saw a lot of curious behavior. Mostly it served as a window onto human nature; a cloudy, cracked and scratchy window.
It gave us guides something to talk about over beer at the end of the day. I don’t miss that. The most easily prevented annoyances stemmed from a lack of preparation. A few divorces likely were initiated at these moments too.
Man, that first video brought back bad memories. lol
When I was 16 or so, my parents got a 16ft inboard/outboard. My parents didn’t have much recent experience with boating. We did some boating on some inland lakes in Michigan where is was pretty calm and boat launching was pretty relaxed.
On Memorial Day weekend, my dad decided we’d go out on Lake Erie. So we go to a public boat launch at a State Park. It was slammed, as you’d expect it would be. My dad pulled back and got the boat in the water and we tied it up. I was ventilating the engine compartment and then trying to start the boat, while my dad pulled the truck and trailer to a parking spot. I couldn’t get the engine going. My dad came back and couldn’t get it going either. Some people were getting fired up. One guy tried to help, but no go. My dad had to go get the trailer and we pulled it out and went home. We caused a downtime of about 15-20 min downtime on a very busy weekend. oops.
Fun fact, another time we went boating and got home and forgot to put the drain plug back into the boat after draining some water. The next time we went boating, I had a rude discovery when I went to air out the engine compartment. Water was coming in at an aggressive rate. After my dad came back from parking the vehicle, I told him about it and then he jumped into the water behind the boat and stuck his finger in the hole. My mom went and got the vehicle and we managed to load it onto the trailer with my dad still holding his finger in the drain hole.
I’m scarred from my incidents earlier, I don’t think I’ll ever own or want to own a boat. lol
B.O.A.T = Break Out Another Thousand.
The two best days of a boat owner: the day you buy it, and the day you sell it.
I’m sure there are more.
Since I discovered kayak fishing years ago I rarely take the money pit out. And I catch more fish.
“Deep Sea” fishing is to the point you need a lawyer with you to verify what you can fish for, and when, and what you can keep. And order’s of magnitude more expensive.
We had an incident here a few years ago on our local lake where a guy refueled at a fuel dock, didn’t run his blower/vent motor and was in a hurry…fired up and it blew the back end of his boat off.
I have something like this too! The Nordschleiffe in Germany! A fantastic 24hr race is held there that I love watching, but the crash compilations from when it’s a public road are something else!
It’s kinda funny given that it’s quite a technical circuit to drive fast given how many blind corners and weird bumps there are on the track surface that can properly upset your balance in a braking zone.
I spend a not insubstantial time watching these as well. I love watching the British guys smash their cars up and think about the long long recovery home
That first guy. Appears like blatant disregard for his passengers. Nimrod. Destin inlet, in Florida, could (or used to, back in the 80’s) get like this with a opposing tide/wind. A) I’m kinda fascinated that filming these things is a “thing”, and b) this is was why I was glad the entry into flying was so high.
Yeah, I dig the Haulover channel too. Have been through it many times when I was going to college there and then remained in Miami for another 6 years.
Some trivia - back in the day, Haulover cut was a favorite inlet for drug smugglers. Not sure if that’s still a thing with the change in laws and attitudes, but Cigarette and Midnight Express boats would come roaring through on dark nights running wide open and sometimes being chased by the USCG, DEA, or Florida Marine Patrol. The DEA had a black Midnight Express that would often be seen tied up on the Miami River. So the builder had two types of customer LOL.
You would probably be surprised how good the lobstering and spearfishing (Hawaiian sling) while snorkeling within eyesight of the beach. The locals have secret spots. We would drag behind the boat while it idled along and drop off the line when something tasty was spotted below. Great fun.
The inlets can be rough, especially given the obvious whitecaps. OK to go through when fishing or diving if you know what you are doing, but for most boats not a great day for sightseeing.
Now living in Charleston, Scout tests their boats from a ramp about a mile from the brewery. I see them there almost every day. They look pretty amazing.
Yeah…I would kind of think it would be important to brief your passengers. Nobody in the bow. Both hands holding on to something. No riding on the gunwales. Both hands for the boat. No loose objects. Etc…etc… It is really irresponsible to take people through that without making sure they are safe prior to hitting the conditions. And the docking videos…I can’t believe how many yahoos don’t have fenders out and lines ready to go…nor do some of them really seem to read the prevailing winds to plan which way the boat is going to end up getting pushed as it looses steerage…
here is my guilty viewing at the moment … living near this ford must be great, you can just imaging the glee in the eyes of the locals every time it rains
Haha…fun stuff. Of course…some of those vehicles might get waters into some bearings that might not be fun later on down the road (I’ve heard that is a thing…I dunno if that is true)…
Another guilty pleasures video…the 11’ 8" bridge channel…
I am very guilty! …