Banning Jet Packs in the Harbor?

The Jet Packs in the harbor are cool– nobody is denying that.  However, should they be here in our harbor?

Many boaters use the channel that they operate in, and some complain that the Jet Packs tend to be in the way, with newbie drivers flying and spraying seawater all over the place– so should they be banned?

I think the answer is obvious: Absolutely not.

Do I get annoyed when the Jet Packs are blocking the waterway?  Sure I do!  I– like everyone else– would also be elated if I was the only car on the road and the only boat on the water.  But despite my personal feelings on the Jet Packs, I am not a hypocrite and I will not call for them to be banned outright.

City Council will consider a ban at their next meeting– but the most offensive thing about this proposed ban is the way in which the council is going about it: By banning Jet Packs outright.  This is absolutely ridiculous and displays a freshmen-level understanding of law and order, to say the least.  If there are problems with the Jet Packs, then one should identify those and specifically ban those (or enforce the existing laws that they are breaking, if any).

Are they too loud?  There are ordinances that cover that.  Ticket them until they fix that.
Are they unable to signal properly?  Ticket them until they fix that.
Do they create a wake?  Ticket them until they fix that.
So far, there has not been a single citation from the city on any of these items.

Banning Jet Packs as a whole is completely absurd and would result not in fixing a problem, but instead in stifling innovation, destroying a thriving harbor business, and would be some of the laziest lawmaking that this current council has done so far.  (Note: they’ve made far worse decisions so far, but this would be the pinnacle of laziness)

The idea of banning Jet Packs simply because they are Jet Packs would show a wealth of immaturity in the legislative process, and will open doors for other operators to create precisely the same “nuisance” to the public using different devices, simply by not being Jet Packs.

Jet Pack America has served tens of thousands of customers in the last few years, with around 8,000 of them being Newport Beach residents.  During that time, they have had no noise violation citations, and no wake violation tickets.  They have told me that they stay 300 feet away from homes– far beyond the mere 100 feet required by the city.

Many have complained about “noise”, but sound tests conducted and on public record have shown that they make no more noise than a vacuum cleaner, and the closest homes receive approximately 40 decibels of sound– equivalent to a quiet library.

Is this legislation coming from the guilt-by-association due to them operating near Woody’s Wharf, which some in the city quite apparently have a “thing” against?

I dislike the Jet Packs, but the for the city to even consider “banning Jet Packs” is a novice move, at best.

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