Slow No Wake

Having grown up on James Island I have been using the Wappoo Cut boat landing for well over 30 years. At one time this landing was nothing more than a dirt parking lot with a partially paved ramp and gravel that went out into the river a little ways and just dropped off. Thanks to money raised through the Saltwater Fishing License the Charleston County Parks have made great improvements to this landing and it is now one of the best public landings in the state. With three launching lanes, two floating docks, a no wake zone, and an asphalt paved parking lot the facility has come a long way; however, with the sheer number of folks using the landing mishaps and antics still abound. I have often said if you are bored on Sunday afternoon and are in need of a good laugh, go grab a bucket of chicken and sit at the picnic table at Wappoo Cut and enjoy the entertainment. Granted some mishaps are unforeseeable and cannot be prevented, but the majority are caused by either pure stupidity or many times lack of consideration by others.

About 15 years ago now I was witness to a one of those lack of consideration type actions. My wife and I had been on the boat all day with some friends, we pulled up to the dock and I dropped off my her off to grab the truck and trailer and I then idled the boat back out into the cut and waited. The area was quite congested with other boats waiting to pull out and still others were just passing through. I pulled off to the side and was waiting next to a center console Sea Pro that was driven by an attractive young girl in her late teens. She and I were waiting patiently kicking our boats in and out of gear to just stay ahead of the tide awaiting our trailers to be backed down. There was a mere 20 feet between our boats when some drunk idiot, that closely resembled the Michelin Man, comes plowing between us in his bow rider. Having had a great day up until this point, and also having just been cussed out the week before by another boater exhibiting the same lack of consideration, I decided to