PERSONAL WATERCRAFT (Fall 97 issue)

The American Admiralty Bureau brought to our attention a criminal conviction for reckless endangerment for allowing a girl, age 11, to operate a personal watercraft. Maryland state law required the operator of a personal watercraft to be at least 14 years of age and certified in boat safety. The judge held the adult responsible for the supervision of children.

The convicted man said he had taken six children, four his own children and two of their friends out on a Sunday. None of the six had ever been alone on a jetski before. He held a brief instructional session for them before forming them into pairs for an afternoon ride. He stood on the pier supervising them but didn’t see the accident.

Two of the girls on one of the jetski operated by a 13 year old decided to splash another pair. At the last moment, while they were doing 30 or 40 miles an hour, the jetski didn’t turn, probably because of the inexperience of the operator. They ran over the other jetski killing one of the girls on it.

This is the first case we are aware of where the supervising adult who was not on the boat has been convicted of failing to properly supervise an under age boat operator.

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