First ever Tool of the week award goes to…

The hero-for-half-an-hour Jet ski rider, whoever you were : Picture a surprisingly uncrowded mid-morning surf at a favourite north-end location on the far side of a busy seaway. As if the Froggerâ„¢-esque paddle over( via a busy thoroughfare for boats of all size) isn’t bad enough, surfers then have to put up with tourists on rented PWC’s stinkin’ up the joint with petrol fumes and fangin’ in and around the lineup with zero clue about safety. I’m sure they’re told the rules at some point (60m boundary around surfers), but soon forget them.

A bit of info from the Surfrider foundation:

Not only are jet skis harmful to the physical and natural environment, they are also a danger to humans. Jet skis, now 12% of all watercraft, are responsible for up to 40% of all boating injuries. Often, those who are injured are not PWC riders, but are other boaters, sailboarders or swimmers who couldn’t get out of their way.

I’m giving the Tool of the Week award to the particular guy who almost ran me over in about 3′ of water in the shorebreak today, only missing me because I was yelling obscenities at him and giving him the finger². He then proceeded to buzz me (and another guy also trying to communicate by way of the finger) and give me a serve of jabbering bullshit punctuated by a I’m-so-angry-my-voice-is-breaking crackle about how rules don’t apply to him. All the while setting a great example for the two children on the back with him…

Buddy, you win.