VIEWPOINT: LETTER : Draw the Line on Jet Skis--at the Southern Tip of Baja

Let me throw my hat into the anti-Jet Ski ring. I’ve been an ocean and beach user (swimmer, surfer, sailor, boater) for most of my life, and I hate the idea of restricting any legitimate group from using the ocean and beach for fun and recreation. But sometimes you have to draw the line, and I draw the line on Jet Skis.

While the article dealt adequately with the danger aspect and the desirability of having another air-polluting, gas-guzzling machine to help destroy the environment, I want to concentrate on only one negative impact from these water monsters--noise.

Most people go to the beach to get away from the aggravation and noise of the city. Basically, I think we all want a little peace and quiet at the shore. Have you noticed that most ocean and beach users such as surfers, scuba divers, swimmers, sailors, kayakers, beachcombers, joggers, skaters and even powerboat-propelled anglers don’t make much noise? It seems natural that way.

But Jet Skis make noise. . . .

So here’s my suggestion: If Jet Skis can’t be muffled to make less noise, then they should be restricted to areas no closer than 1,500 yards from any human activity. That would make the closest approved Jet Ski area on the West Coast somewhere just north of Cabo San Lucas, which seems just about right to me.

HARALD JOHNSON

Woodland Hills