Here in New Jersey, anyone–yes, anyone–can put a boat in the water and perpetrate whatever idiocy strikes his fancy. Here are a few glaring examples.
Next door to our rented shore house, right on the bay, there was a marina which had a tenant whom we dubbed “Crash.” He used to rush into the marina on full throttle and he gave the marina owners fits. But he was only one of many.
Nasty weather, and we are glad to be indoors today. Let’s find a movie.
Wow! Some really foolhardy things, in that video.
When we drive a car, we move in relation to the road surface, which tends to be stable. In good traction conditions, everything is predictable, and it’s not that hard to avoid getting in trouble. In an airplane, we move in relation to the air, and air can move of its own, plus you have and ability to change altitudes, so there’s one more level of control.
In a boat, you move in relation to the water, and water can move in three dimension, but because the contact between the boat and the water is contact between solid and a liquid, and liquids are not shape-confined, it’s a lot easier for a boat to be moved by the wind. So you could be attempting to move in one direction towards a spot on the shore, but get caught in a current which changes your direction and the wind could be influencing your motion in yet another direction, so I imagine that it could get very, very dicey. It would be like a cross between driving on glare ice and flying an airplane. Add unpredictable wind gusts and things could get away from you, quite easily.
Now, taking into account all of the things in the last paragraph, add in some jackwagon in another boat, behaving irresponsibly, and … well … it makes my head hurt just to think about it.