Trying to Ride Out a Wave of Criticism : Water sports: Swamped by restrictions, Jet Ski boosters defend safety record and seek to reverse tide of legislation.

By JEFF MEYERS

Aug. 23, 1992 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Aside from the great white shark, probably no sea creature petrifies and enrages surfers more than the humpbacked, fire-breathing Jet Ski. Nine feet in length and weighing 400 pounds, these terrifying projectiles can rocket by without warning, leaving freeway-like fumes and enemies in their wake.

“Jet Skis,” says state lifeguard C.L. Price, “are really despised by surfers.”

And just about everybody else. In the past few years, anti-Jet Ski sentiment has been growing in California. Although the popular 50-horsepower machines once had complete access to state waterways, their domain began evaporating when municipalities--reacting to complaints by the public--began enacting local ordinances banning Jet Skis or severely restricting their use. Last spring, Malibu became the 10th California city to restrict the craft, making it illegal to launch them from shore.

Local legislation was jump-started by a Jet Ski boom that brought thousands of new riders into the sport in the late-’80s, when Yamaha introduced the sit-down Jet Ski, which was easier to ride and more comfortable than the original stand-up model. This year, the three major Jet Ski manufacturers, Yamaha, Kawasaki and Sea-Doo, expect to gross a record $300 million, selling about 75,000 machines in the United States, twice as many as in 1986.

The prevailing not-in-my-ocean attitude obviously worries Jet Ski manufacturers and other proponents of the sport. “Don’t let them legislate us out of existence,” a headline trumpets in Race Report, a monthly Jet Ski magazine. To some, however, the signs are clear.

“A lot of us see Jet Skis going the way of the three-wheel (all-terrain motorcycle),” says Jet Ski rider Jeff Guzzetti of San Clemente, referring to the once-popular recreation vehicle that no longer is manufactured because it is considered too dangerous to ride.

If Jet Skis become extinct, critics say, it won’t be because the machines are dangerous but because the riders are.

“They have this macho mentality and the same lack of concern as (operators of) off-road and four-wheel-drive vehicles,” says Ventura surfer Jon Patton, a 38-year-old Hollywood prop maker.

But are riders to blame for being unsafe when nobody teaches them the rules? In California this year, the Department of Motor Vehicles has registered 104,751 Jet Skis, up 10,000 from 1991. The total number of Jet Ski operators registered by the state, however, is zero. With Jet Skis falling under the same category as yachts, Jet Ski operators are not required to be licensed or pass any test. Right now, anybody 12 or older can take a 40-m.p.h. spin on a Jet Ski with no knowledge of boating safety.

“A Jet Ski is regarded as a toy and (is) operated recklessly,” says Lee Webster, a Ventura yachtsman.

It is the information vacuum that inevitably leads to irresponsible riding, which gives the sport a black eye. “The lack of awareness in some riders is directly responsible for this image we have,” BC Racing race director Paul Peloso says. “When you take a personal water craft on the water, you have to be aware of boating regulations and act like a captain piloting a vessel.”

While the Jet Ski industry is opposed to legislation, it favors regulation that sets standards of education for riders. Many in the industry would like to see states require driver’s licenses for Jet Ski operators.

“I think it will come to that,” says Brad Cuthbertson, owner of BC Racing, which staged a recent Jet Ski competition in Ventura. “The (rider) problem has gotten out of hand. You wouldn’t let your son drive your car without a license, but you would let him on a Jet Ski. It’s crazy.”

Ignorance of the rules aside, another reason some riders act recklessly is because they have a relatively small investment to protect. A basic Jet Ski can be bought for $1,000.

“If you owned a yacht,” Cuthbertson says, “you would probably go to a Coast Guard safety class and not act stupid on the water.”

Although the Jet Ski industry recognizes its problems and shortcomings, it believes the sport is being unfairly persecuted. Citing their safety record--only 110 reported injury accidents in 1990, according to the state--Jet Skiers contend the bias against them is not because of “safety or noise but (actually because of) the increasing user demands on recreation waterways,” says John Donaldson, president of the Personal Watercraft Industry Assn.

With Jet Skiing not even two decades old--Kawasaki sold its first model in 1974--the sport “is the new kid on the block,” Donaldson says. “Jet Skiers are competing with established and traditional users of the water who say, ‘We don’t want these guys coming in here.’ ”

Jet Skiers believe that the perception of them as crazed water cowboys is a bad rap. “So many riders ride properly,” Peloso says, “and the majority are great guys, very polite and courteous. There’s only one or two rotten apples in the crowd who ruin it for everybody. One guy buzzes the surfers and they say all Jet Skiers are jerks.”

Jet Skiers, however, generally cause headaches for law enforcement. They might collide only occasionally with humans, or other craft, but Jet Skiers often violate boating regulations by coming within 100 feet of a swimmer or 200 feet of shore when people are present. Although he did not have specific figures on the number of citations issued by his department, Ventura Port District Harbor Master John Tyler says Jet Skiers create “frequent problems” for his patrol officers, who currently are trying to obtain their own Jet Skis with which to pursue violators.

Ideally, Jet Skiers would like to operate their craft with impunity on the lakes and oceans of California, but they’re willing to live with legislation as long as it gives them their own slice of the recreation pie. Just as swimmers and surfers often have their designated areas and water skiers are segregated from fishermen, Jet Skiers want corridors set aside exclusively for them.

“It’s worked in places like Daytona Beach (Fla.) and Mission Bay (in San Diego),” Donaldson says.

And Castaic Lake. Run by Los Angeles County, the lake was one of the state’s first recreation areas to segregate Jet Skiers, giving them their own mile-long playground about five years ago. Although there were no plans to ban Jet Skis from the lake, administrators recognized that the machines and their riders were unable to coexist peacefully with other water users.

“Their mode of operation is to go wild,” says Steve Henrickson, a head lifeguard at Castaic. “They were constantly attacking the waves of boats or doing doughnuts around boats.”

At first, says Mike Coash, another head lifeguard, Jet Skiers did some “grumbling” about their isolation “but eventually stopped and have adapted very well. Now they’re very quick to report a boat that happens to wander into their area,” Coash says.

But merely segregating Jet Skiers doesn’t really “make the problem go away,” Cuthbertson says. “You’re just pushing it down the coast.”

Cuthbertson believes a distinction should be made between unsupervised recreational Jet Skiers and the Jet Skiers who race in his competitions, which are similar to motocrosses. A racer is required to know safety rules and can be disqualified for breaking them in a race. By running a tight ship, Cuthbertson says, he has avoided serious accidents in the hundreds of races he has conducted over the past nine years.

“We’ve never had a fatality and only a couple of fractures,” he says, adding that he also “doesn’t stand for” loud engines. He encourages riders to lower their noise level by adjusting the flow of water through their craft’s impeller.

Although the problems with Jet Skis aren’t likely to be resolved quickly, the industry is trying to take more control of its future, sponsoring safety classes, filing lawsuits to overturn local bans, and organizing for political clout.

“We want the same rights as everybody else,” says Guzzetti, the San Clemente Jet Skier.

And to those who would condemn them, Jet Skiers say: Don’t knock the sport if you haven’t tried it.

“You’ve got jumps, thrills and spills,” Guzzetti says, watching a dozen Jet Skis pound across the surf at the Ventura races. “It’s like you’re riding a motorcycle on water, except it’s a lot cleaner and a lot softer when you fall.”