I have noticed an increased number of obnoxious boaters this year. Although the nice boaters certainly outnumber them, the obnoxious ones are coming out of the woodwork!

The number one obnoxious behaviour of boaters is their loud music. When in a marina, you are practically living on top of one another, so it seems to me that you would take extra precautions to be considerate of one another. The first time an obnoxious boater played his music was our very first night on the boat in Parry Sound – July 1st. Everyone was getting ready to watch the fireworks, the marina was packed, and this guy on a powerboat turned up his music full blast. After a good fifteen minutes, his wife turned it down but once she went safely down below, he turned it up again and started dancing! Good grief! Somebody asked him to turn the music down and he answered that he liked annoying people. He was right!

The loud music has occurred on a number of occasions, and I don’t want to generalize but on every occasion, it has been on a powerboat. When we were in Little Current on July 5th, a powerboater turned up his stereo and played the American National Anthem full blast. First of all, he was in Canada, and second of all, it was July 5th! After this endearing move, he continued to play (more softly) cheesy elevator music for the next hour.

The best incident though was actually unbelievable! We pulled into St. Amant’s in Britt beside a powerboat named Studio 54. I am naming this boat because the man who owns the boat clearly needs to have an attitude adjustment. He played LOUD music the entire afternoon and evening – Jimmy Buffet, music from the 70s and disco! The people on the other boat that were traveling with him told us to just wait until he got the disco ball. We, of course, thought they were joking. They were not! So, this idiot played his music until someone complained and Mr. St. Amant had to come out and tell him to turn it down.

In conclusion, I find it hard to believe that other people can be so inconsiderate. This is truly obnoxious behaviour! End of rant!