Beware.....Lake Havasu is a tourist trap (home, construction)

[Arizona Bound]

I think the real issue here is the ticket amount...
If the ONLY reason to ticket people is to have them
aware of the problem they are causing, and if after
checking records to see weather they have ever been
wrote-up before, this being thier first offence... why
not 50 bucks? or even 75 bucks?
185 bucks... that's crooked. Then the way they handle
the process for you to defend yourself is so bogus. They
know for a FACT that you are not going to bother making
2 or 3 trips back to defend the ticket. Sweet set-up they have.
I am not saying they didn't do anything wrong... I am not sticking
up for them because I have had a bunch a tickets, I have never had
ANY tickets in my 35 years of driving.
If they were causing such a hassard... were they forced to leave the lake?
What do they do when it's a windy day, and the lake has wind wake?
The main issue is money... if safety was the main issue, why not chase
them off the lake... if the ticket is not the main issue, why not a lesser
amount, somebody sure is getting rich. The poster even stated that the
area was desserted... guess it's hard to fill that quota during the week.

Just My Opinion...

[taratune]

Yes, my husband said that I was driving the thing faster than my son was.......but I can assure you that even I was not going "fast"......I would give in a little gas to get it going and then coast a bit and then when the thing slowed almost to a stop and the steering got real difficult and the thing seemed like it was going to tip...I gave it another brief bit of gas....maybe 30 seconds worth and then I would coast for about 45 to 60 seconds and then give it a little more gas. Like I said....we were barely moving forward. The speed didn't even register on the speedometer.

We went mid week...in fact we received our ticket on a Tuesday. The hotels were practically empty. Several of them were offering cheap rates.....(one on a big flashing sign)......trying to get people to stay there. We are not party people. We were not drinking. The lake had several people on it where we were.... but it was far from being crowded. The place seemed to be hurting for tourist. I wondered why the place was so empty.......and now I know why.

I am sure that the little bit of "wake" that we were making (if any) was not causing any damage or endangering any one. We were staying clear of any other boats and wave runners because we did not want to take any chances. We also did not want to have the wave runner become even harder to steer because of the movement of the water (dare I say wake) from the other water craft in the area.

At best the officer was using a very strict definition of "wake" and thus everyone on the lake could have been ticketed......and we did see a few others get pulled over......like shooting sitting ducks in a barrel. We were in the prime tourist area.....I'm sure the locals know better places to go......where they don't get harassed.

I still say that no matter how you slice it..... a strict definition of wake along with an outrageous fine that you have no realistic way of fighting is something for tourist to beware of.

.....and don't forget that others on this forum have similar complaints about getting trumped up tickets without an ability to have their day in court....in their cars too. Check out some of the other travel/tourist information sharing sites.....there are many stories a lot worse than ours. Burn me once shame on you, burn me twice.......never gonna burn me again.

BTW.....Since my last post I found out the the City of Los Angeles has a $60 fine for excessive wake and Virgina Beach charges a $35 fine......this seems to be more like it. Especially for a first offense.

[Ponderosa]

When you get a fine here (and maybe other places, I don't know) they tack on various "surcharges" so the amount ends up being much more than what the base cost of the infraction is.

[rich67]

Those two places with low fines, LA and Virginia Beach- have nowhere near the alcohol related boat incidents and drunken debauchery that occurs at Havasu, I am sure. Va Beach is a tourist town, but the majority of boat traffic is residents, and the wake areas are within intercoastal waterways...mainly traveled by seasoned boater, not rental craft and drunken people on spring break or long weekends. LA has lakes, and again, the ocean areas (no intercoastals to really speak of) are residential boat traffic and again, not much in PWC rentals or spring break population on the water. I am sure the Havasu people can chime in and verify this-the reason for excessive fines are a deterrent- definitely needed to get the point across in a high-hazard area such as this.
You claimed the PWC was "hard to steer" when you go slow. This is obvious to anyone who has experience on PWC. The ski doesn't steer when it is not under thrust! You need to have throttle applied in order to steer, otherwise the ski goes straight! This is where people who lack experience on these types of craft have bad accidents. You need to learn to operate the craft and throttle in such a manner you can point the craft in the appropriate direction, maintain your straight line, and feather the throttle to make small course adjustments as necessary. I used to rent these things, and people have a hard time with this concept. It takes a lot of "seat time" to get this down, and this is where you will get yourself into trouble every time.
I'm not knocking you, so don't take it the wrong way- but you are comparing apples to oranges by naming off those two other communities.

[kdog]

Rich, is it safe to say that one should not be practicing using a PWC in a no wake zone other than initial launching and docking? It sounds like the OP and family were pretty much staying in the no-wake zone the entire time, trading back and forth and the like. It's clear the wave runners aren't designed for use in a no wake zone. Correct?

Also, this business of repeatedly gunning the wave runner to attempt to get more control could have looked like hot-dogging to other folks and the cops.

[ElizaTeal]

Maybe the OP should be reading up on operating a PWC in a no wake zone, instead of comparing fines in other jurisdictions. Bottom line, Lake Havasu has a sensative eco system. You might have been playing in the wrong area of the lake.

[Tracy Kemmer]

I may have a job interview there. Probably be by myself as my husband will hopefully have to work here in Michigan. Is the area safe for a woman of 55 to be there alone?
I do know some one that is a Realtor that hopefully I can hang around with while I'm there sight seeing.
We were considering staying in Michigan but if I can get this Vet Assistant job it would change our plans. Not much money at first but at least a job with benefits.

[kdog]

Watch out for tourists speeding in the no-wake zones on rented Jet Skis.

Other than that, no worries, and I predict you are going to have a good time.

[ElizaTeal]

Originally Posted by Tracy Kemmer

I may have a job interview there. Probably be by myself as my husband will hopefully have to work here in Michigan. Is the area safe for a woman of 55 to be there alone?
I do know some one that is a Realtor that hopefully I can hang around with while I'm there sight seeing.
We were considering staying in Michigan but if I can get this Vet Assistant job it would change our plans. Not much money at first but at least a job with benefits.

Ask your real estate agent to show you the short-cuts so you're not sitting traffic.

[rich67]

Originally Posted by kdog

Rich, is it safe to say that one should not be practicing using a PWC in a no wake zone other than initial launching and docking? It sounds like the OP and family were pretty much staying in the no-wake zone the entire time, trading back and forth and the like. It's clear the wave runners aren't designed for use in a no wake zone. Correct?

Also, this business of repeatedly gunning the wave runner to attempt to get more control could have looked like hot-dogging to other folks and the cops.

Well, sometimes riding through a no-wake zone is unavoidable, since most of the PWC rental spots are near marinas that require you to obey the No Wake laws. But yes, the practicing needs to be done outside of the no wake areas for sure, and for the novice it's VERY difficult to fully understand how PWC thrust and steering works without making the occasional high speed/above no wake runs. Sometimes, if you feel like you are going to tip over, goosing the throttle will help the craft regain stability, but then you are definitely throwing off a wake...this is probably what was observed by the officer. Experienced riders know how to handle the craft better, and rarely tip them over.
PWC can be a lot of fun to rent and ride, but sometimes it's best if you at least have a basic understanding of the handling of the craft and had some seat time before hitting a crazy area like Havasu.