Couple of thoughts. First, like many I'm a little leery of posting anything out of deference to the event organizers. But if this conversation is going to exist, it strikes me that a few things merit examination.
Just for clarity, the problem with the mess in the no-wake zone was not about not-knowing the lake. It would be an issue even if there wasn't any no-wake zone at all. Regardless of how the water was marked, it was pulling away from a restaurant dock with a whole slew of boats known to be tied up there, many from this group, and turning it into a washing machine. A whole group of folks in the restaurant went running from their tables to keep their and others' boats from being banged up. It wasn't just a single pull-away either. Viewed from the restaurant, it was heading off to the left, turning and coming back to the the right, then turning and going left again, which I believe is the loop you mentioned. But I think it's worth understanding the complaint had nothing to do with not-knowing the lake's no-wake zones, just a general situational awareness/consideration issue. Regardless of any no-wake zone or lack of it, the REASON for the no-wake zone was known and should have been treated as such regardless of any markings or lack of markings.
I would not be surprised if some folks don't care to go into any of it here because it will just be an unpleasant conversation, but if one is concerned about the veracity of some of the other statements, I will say I heard at least 4 unsolicited, independent complaints consistent with what's stated above. I say this not to give a hard time, but as friendly feedback. I'd want to know if I'd given such an impression. Someone gave a great speech one time asking an audience what it feels like to be wrong about something. People said it felt embarrassing, frustrating, etc. The speaker went on to acknowledge that all of those things were common reactions to FINDING OUT one was wrong. But the important point is that BEING wrong about something feels EXACTLY like being right.
The video is an interesting and I think potentially easily-misunderstood piece of evidence. It's forward-facing. With no lanes painted on the lake and the other craft in question behind or alongside, the video doesn't tell anyone much about whether anyone behind or off the stern quarter was cut off. Even more difficult to sort out is that the implicit "road" on the water turns corners with some of the shoreline, sometimes abrupt but more often longer and gradual. So even if one watches the horizon and sees no course changes on the film, it is still possible that someone was cut off. Put another way, it's possible to drive perfectly straight and still cut someone off. (Not claiming that is what is being said, BTW, just talking about the limits of what the vide COULD EVER prove.) And very subtle changes visible by watching the horizon could be significant for boats very close by. What does edging 20-30 feet sideways over a couple seconds show on the video with no boats in view ahead? What's it even look like? The fish-eye lens of a Go-Pro also badly exaggerates distance to the sides, making it that much harder to assess anything having to do with shoreline, and making the boats that are at times seen in view look a lot further away than they actually are. It's a pain, as many of us have played with GoPros to try to get footage of other's boats. To get anything decent on film you have to get much closer than people would normally drive. The point is that it is a mistake to think the video proves the complaint is wrong. I can totally see how someone might watch the video and think "I don't see anything like that" but that's a mistake. Regardless of what happened, the forward-facing video with no other boats in frame isn't going to show it. I watched the video and found it interesting how misleading it was that there was no indication of certain things I did witness firsthand, just due to the forward-view and distance distortion to the sides.
For absolute clarity, I didn't witness the event Stan mentioned--I was looking forward. My point is simply that the video isn't exculpatory as claimed above--it CAN'T be. A rearward-facing video would be needed to know what took place behind the boat and the relative movements of the boats.
What I will say is that afterward, with boats gathered at a stop in the run and creeping around at idle speed, if someone came alongside shouted angrily at me after a segment of a run like that, I wouldn't ignore the person and say nothing because I didn't know what the he was talking about. I'd have wanted to know what he was talking about. Saying nothing in that circumstance, instead of finding out what was the matter, doesn't feel like the right approach. Perhaps not the conversation one would want to have, but a necessary one to find out what was up, perception, reality, or whatever.
Last, I will say that I think pulling close into somebody's 2 o'clock at 60+ MPH (or even at 30 MPH) and holding one's hands up in the air for 5 seconds and looking sideways is not a good idea. In that position, taking one's hands off the wheel at all is very inconsiderate. Any number of things could go wrong at any time, but in a lake known to have lots of logs floating around, even more so.
Having driven in only a few of these events, I think it's a bit daunting to be in relatively close proximity to a bunch of very fast boats all up over 50 or 60 mph or more. It takes some getting used to and even with some hours of seat time I feel like I am in still the very early stages. FWIW, when someone with Stan's many years of racing tells me something about driving a boat, I am all ears and appreciate the free guidance from an experienced professional. Even if he'd have yelled at me boat-to-boat, I'd have tried to follow up and figure out what was up. So, while quietly being pulled aside for some friendly advice would have been preferable, and while it may be difficult at this stage in the conversation, some open reflection on what others have said feels like it would still be the most useful course.
"I don't have time to get into it, but he went through a lot." -Pulp Fiction
X_X
Lake St. Clair, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, Lake Oakland
Originally Posted by Inferno
Edit: this comment refers to the "he said - he said" nature of this thread. It has nothing to do with the following comments. Please read those as intended; Stan has a ton of driving experience that could benefit virtually everyone on this site, myself included.
