Stoo, you are in good hands...O.P.P. launching the boat the easy way..

[pathalla]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Are they really that bad then???

Cod, I am surprised at you, after all those Starsky and Hutch episodes you've watched ... plainly, as we all can see, it's not an act. They put the truck ALL the way under... No one can be that bad, but they are... approach the ramp very slowly in reverse... use regular brakes... put er in park... use emergency brake... two guys to get the boat off... one in the vehicle.. one at the winch... They stil managed to ENTIRELY sink the vehicle, I bet the safety chain was still attached to the bow eye and they weren't able to unhook it due to the floatation of the boat. And you know they aren't smart enough to ask some of the bystanders to help (add ballast, unhook chain) no, it might make them look bad! Can't let the public know we make mistakes!! I am being facetious of course, you were referring to their heavy handedness when dealing with the boating pubic, these things do however tend to go hand in hand. Imcompetence, abusing the public, penis envy, those kind of things....

[Stoo]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Are they really that bad then???

No... I know a number of OPP guys (They patrol this area on land and very occasionally, on water...) and they're good guys in my experience. The guy who is the head of the OPP Dive Team was trained by yours truly many years ago and he brings his gang to Tobermory for training once a year when we get reacquainted... at the pub!

One police/boating experience will amuse you though: Several years ago, I dragged my boat down to Toronto to watch a huge fireworks display. The harbour in Toronto has a posted speed limit of 5 knots or something, so we were putting along late in the afternoon when we were hailed and pulled over by the Toronto Harbour Marine Police. After the usual "safety" inspection, they started to ask some odd questions like where was I two nights before etc. Eventually, we were "released", but less than three minutes later, we were stopped again by another boat, and "grilled" again. Again, we were set free after a few minutes....

We put this down as an odd coincidence, until we were stopped a third time in just a few minutes. This time we were joined by the second boat as well, so we were now surrounded! Again, the grilling, examining ID etc. so finally I said, "Obviously you guys are suspicious about something. Why don't you tell me what it is and I'll see if I can clear it up."

So after some whispering, one of them finally says that there had been reports of a "large gray inflatable" launching explosive charges just outside the harbour earlier in the week. Notwithstanding that my boat (and me too!) was in Tobermory at the time, I suggested that they might want to check with the Naval Reserve base (located just outside the harbour!) as they undoubtedly have some "large gray inflatables".. and were somewhat more likely to have access to explosives than I was!

As polite as they were and all, I was starting to doubt the abilities of Toronto's Finest!

At any rate, the moral of the story is that if you are ever bringing your boat to Toronto, it would be best to leave your depth charges, Excocets and other armaments at home!

[dctucker]

Originally Posted by codprawn

Are they really that bad then???

Many (not all) tend to have over sized egos and large chips on their shoulders. Many are not the sharpest knives in the drawer either...

I was recently stopped by the local harbormaster, while side towing a 26' sailboat (~3500 pounds) with a 23' hard boat (also heavy). They actually pulled up right in front of us, very nearly causing a collision. They had arrived for good reason, someone had called to report my 21 month old had fallen overboard at the dock (which he did 10 minutes earlier, wearing his lifejacket, which worked as expected, and he was recovered unharmed but surprised in about 20 seconds). I appreciated that they responded to a call (The caller was ridiculous, the child was never in any danger and there were 4 adults present!), but their action in cutting off a combination of vessels with very limited maneuvering ability was nearly reckless. They only needed to come alongside to talk to us, not prevent criminals from fleeing!

I think the waterborne Police particularly feel an extra need to justify their existence and budgets by being somewhat overzealous in their activities.