Officer what do you mean I can't wear this vest?

Sunday morning the three of us get on the boat, I see the cop boat following about 200-300 feet behind us. I tell my buddy, "the rider better do something cool so that cop lays off". I see the 5-0 stray away some and when we complete the turn around in the bay he turns on his lights. I stop, the rider sinks slowly. My buddy thought it was a good idea to wear a tshirt over his vest for the set. The cop idles toward him and asked him where his vest was. Followed by a, "that's not an appropriate vest, you need a uscga type 3 vest to ride on this lake. I'm afraid that's a citation." The rider gets back in the boat and the next thing I hear is,
"Operator show me your vests"
-Sure no prob, 1-2-3
"Got a throwable?"
-Yea, even got an extra
"How 'bout some registration?"
-Sure thing
"Driver, turn your boat around so I can see your registration stickers"
He let us go and I put the boat in gear and started to idle away shortly before I hear this, "One more thing!" "Operator, how old are you?" 18 sir...
He gave me all this bs how I was driving illegaly and need a boater's safety course certificate to operate if your born after 01/01/1988. Funny thing is that I knew about this rule but haven't heard about it being endorsed.

Conclusion : The cop followed me all the way to the dock, my buddy flashed him his boating license and he let us ride as long as my buddy drove the boat at all times. No citation but a major pita

First time i have heard of this.

Jerseys are getting popular. I would expect more of this to happen.

$107 ticket for wearing a non CGA vest while boarding on Lake Mead. He could have gave us a ticket for no third also but let us go on that.

i've been stopped once so far for the whole jersey over the vest thing... its kinda funny

Is there a reason to wear a jersey over you vests?

Style Points, I've never done it though

Same reason as wearing shorts over a wetsuit, it automatically makes you a better rider

In Minnesota, the rider needs to have a vest in the boat, but doesn't need to be wearing it. Only Lake Minnetonka requires the rider to be wearing the vest.

we just had an argument about this on my boat. who gets the ticket? the rider (provided he is 18 or older) or the driver?

I got popped for a non-CGA vest (~$110) while riding, not driving but it was my boat I was riding behind and knew any tickets would be coming my way.

The vest thing seems to be regional. I have yet to see a rider with a vest or even a T over a vest here in south central U.S.

Yah Id say the Jersey over the vest is a bit of a NorCal style...we tend to set trends out here

I wear a t-shirt over mine for sun protection.

I've never heard of the boat safety course law being enforced, either. Seems like a lot of officers on the lake just like to give wakeboarders, especially younger ones, a hard time. I was on a friend's boat a while back and we got stopped because one of the guys in the bow had his foot resting on the egde. The officer went into a big lecture about how unsafe it is to have your arms and legs hanging outside of the boat, blah blah, blah. And this guys foot wasn't even over the edge, just resting on it.

In the state of Indiana, you must only have a CGA vest in the boat, not wearing it. Im not down with pulling people who dont wear vests. Just stupid if you ask me, but Ive never actually had the officers check to see if they are CGA. Just ask to see vests we show them an they say ok. Sometimes conservation officers and local poplice on the water make me real angry, sorry to hear about your bad day Andy!

"NorCal style...we tend to set trends out here"

Lol..yeah that "hella" thing never caught on here trendsetter.

I think it's a bad idea to draw attention to the fact that your not wearing a CGA vest, by making it look like you're not wearing one at all. Slap your buddy, if nothing else for just looking absolutely ridiculous.

"Same reason as wearing shorts over a wetsuit"

Yeah, not exactly the same thing. But let's not have that whole debate again.

Michael,

I don't know where you got that info, and I wish you were right, but you're not. From this website of Indiana Laws:

http://www.usps.org/e_stuff/documents/in_boating_safety_requirements.pdf



"All persons being towed behind a boat or PWC on water skis or any other device must
wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD. Ski belts are not U.S. Coast Guard-approved."

I have had them ask to just hold up the vests, and they didn't blink at my rip curl comp vest, luckily. I have actually heard a story or two about DNR arriving at ski comps and threaten to give nearly every skier tickets and fines.

That sucks.

Luckly, the water cops around here do not know what a Non-CGA life jacket is. Our local wakeboard shop did not even carry them...

Michael was right up until I think last year. I think last summer was the first year the law was inacted.

Nick.. thats why you dont ride The "Wall"

That's when I first got here, give me a break. Now its Government Wash Glass. Your rail is also not looking so good.

I thought in California, there must be enough CGA type III vests for everyone in the boat but that it was legal to board with a non-CGA vest. Then I find this:

The law also says any person on board a personal watercraft (like a Jet Ski) or any person being towed behind a vessel (as in water skiing or kneeboarding) must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket.

Did I miss something or is a CGA vest required for boarding in CA??

Nick.. noticed that... but we actually didnt put that one up and thats wehy they only stay in for a few weeks at a time, when you wanna hookup and ride?

Thur, Fri, Sat, or Sun I'm open but this isn't going to be a call me and then I can't get a hold of you thing is it?

Yes

mellow man...say what you want, NorCal is one of the most culturally diverse, as well as the most innovative regions in the country...and we tend to have more style than most is all...

To those who live in Indy and are debating the law, it's been that way since I started boating at 14 (I'm 27 now) so for 13 years at least. I was certified in a boat safety course at 15 and that was one of the questions on the final test.

I just feel like a poser if I wear a jersey. I thought only pro's or dudes in competitions wore jerseys.

I wear a jersey...I think it looks pimp and adds just a tad extra style to pics. my $0.02

call me an idiot, but i dont think that while you're wakesurfing you should have to wear a lifejacket.

i mean if i were surfing in lake superior on natural waves i wouldnt get a ticket, but when i'm surfing a fake wake (boat wake) then i get a ticket. everything else behind a boat i can understand

I wouldn't go as far as idiot, but I think having some sort of flotation when riding behind the boat on ANY type of board is plain common sense. Yeah you are not as likely to get knocked out surfing, but most of us do not have FAE and you just can't rule out CO poisoning. Last time surfing in our boat a guy split his head open on the board. He didn't get knocked out but emphasized the need for some flotation. Besides on many boats the beers flow more freely when surfing. }

Surfers in natural waves have to punch through the waves and the surfer is leashed to their board so the abasence of life jackets makes a bit more sense out there.

nick, I said nothing at all about the cultral diversity of NorCal, just laughing at thinking you set trends in regards to what is cool more than other areas of the country. Some people in the area tend to have that attitude, that's a shame.

its true it not our fault everyone copies our styles.

..so I guess the wake pants never caught on because Shane was from FL

water dork, i somewhat disagree. i think people should have to wear SOME kind of flotation, approved or not. I know I have been nailed in the back of the head by the by falling over and having the wake wash the board into my head. Some of the lighter surfboard style boards won't do much but my coex hurts because its heavy and hard.

if you're rockin the jersey, you better be killing it behind the boat. i love watching the clowns who "dress the part", but can't ride for crap . kooks!

so if your just learning to ride should you have to wear speedos than and not boardshorts?

and an orange lifevest.....

thats funny speedos n a life vest. i think if you like to have style it shouldnt matter if your are dope or going w2w. ridins about feelin good and if that makes u feel good im for it

i only question when someone who could barley ride is rockin a comp vest. thats just dumb

(Message edited by nsolis220 on September 26, 2008)

That attitude about the jersey freshtracks is kind of rude. Look, if it's your thing to wear a jersey, wear the damn thing. If it helps your stoke on riding, that's fine. You're not a poser if you wear a jersey and aren't that good. You're a poser if you tell people that your really good and that you can do stuff you can't actually do. There shouldn't be a skill level pre-req to wear a jersey while riding, that's just stupid and unnecessary. Why don't you tell that to all of the guys who got WakeWorld jerseys. If they aren't good, are they not supposed to wear the jersey supporting one of their favorite websites while they ride? Kind of reminds me when people were trash talking those guys who wear socks while riding who didn't kill it. I wear a jersey on occassion (can count the times on one hand), just because I want to rep wakeworld, does that make me a poser? Does the fact that I can't really do much more than 180's and poked out grabs mean that I'm not allowed to wear it? I mean really, come on. A jersey is a jersey, you wear one or you don't. Don't get on people who wear them because they like it, or it helps build a stoke for the sport.

Nick, definitely agree! I guess I am just guilty of being one of the "those clowns" I like to mix it up sometimes, I throw on one of my old basketball jerseys from a league I played in or something. Way I look at it, to each his own!

About the law in Indiana, it clearly states

"All persons being towed behind a boat or PWC on water skis or any other device must
wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved PFD. Ski belts are not U.S. Coast Guard-approved."

AND then just a few lines underneath it says

" Anyone towed on water skis, a surfboard, a kite or similar device must wear a
Type I, II, or III PFD (Type V PFDs are not approved)."

Most modern tournament style vests arent CGA. So I think the rule still applies that you must have it in the boat but not have to wear it. And if by chance im wrong its definatly not enforced. At least all the places I ride which is all over the state basically.