I’ve written previously about the phenomenon of bad boating gone viral—à la Wavy Boats and Haulover Inlet—but there’s a new genre of social media shaming that’s making waves in my feed: speed shamers.
In particular, I recently saw a video go semi-viral featuring a motoryacht owner throwing a massive wake while cruising at maybe 14 knots past a marina, causing significant damage. According to some online eyewitnesses, the offending boat owner was stopped and detained by law enforcement. Justice, it seems, was served—but I have to admit, the entire experience left me conflicted.
Let me first confess: I’m no saint. I’ve gone a few knots too fast in no-wake zones, perhaps making up for my wayward younger years experimenting with sailboats. Also, like my father before me, I’ve, umm … communicated with boaters who recklessly speed past my marina. A downward wave, an upward finger, and a couple of what we now call “potty words” later—and we all move on with our lives.
Today, cellphone journalists and keyboard warriors absolutely roast bad boaters with a vitriol that borders on the unhealthy. COLREGs are shouted. Mothers are insulted. Fingers are wagged so hard and fast they threaten dislocation.
The scenario above especially hit home because, in the hours before the speeding incident, I saw the offenders at my marina. And I don’t remember seeing their devil horns and tails. They seemed like any other boating couple you’d bump into on the docks. They’re probably nice people. Probably the kind of couple you’d enjoy making small talk with over sundowners. And they made a mistake.
Did they deserve to have their boat name and homeport blasted across social media with a level of shame that forces them to trade boating for an RV or golf clubs? I don’t know. Call me nostalgic, but I miss the days when you could call someone an a-hole and then go about your day.
I guess my main feeling about these videos is concern. Concern for what’s next. Where do we go from here? Does every boater who gets caught sideways while docking—or backing up a trailer—get social media shamed? Do we start posting Instagram reels of every person who finds themselves at the end of a tow rope?
Does the same anger and angst that’s all too common on land make its way into our pastime? I certainly hope not.
One of the things I like best about boating is that it often feels like we enjoy a world frozen in the past—a world where people still wave to one another, share a marina grill and conversation, where we put down our phones and drinks to catch our neighbor’s line because, at some point, we hope they’d do the same for us.
Instead of posting #BoatingFails, maybe we’d be better served sharing our #BoatingWins. I know I’d like to see more of those in my feed—and in life.
See you on the water,
Dan
daniel.harding@firecrown.com
@danhardingboating
This article originally appeared in the November 2025 issue of Power & Motoryacht magazine.
