To Wave or Not to Wave? Boating's Unwritten Rule

Are you a “waver?”

Is it even necessary?

Two boats zipping by in a channel, hardly strangers in the night. But there’s some sort of unwritten rule on the waters that seems to separate the "bad" boys and girls from the good ones. Some boaters wave when passing another, some don’t.

Waving means more than just saluting a stranger or acknowledging an acquaintance.

It reminds us that we’re all in this water safety thing together. There’s another unwritten rule on the water; call it the mariner’s code. If another boater is in trouble, we’re all in trouble. If a boater has capsized in the Gulf, the code says a mariner has to do whatever he or she can to help.

Remember in 2009 when the 21-foot boat belonging to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper flipped in rough seas? The Coast Guard reportedly covered some 24,000 square miles before ending its search.

The next morning, Chris Galati of Galati Yacht Sales on Anna Maria Island, and longtime Tampa Bay Buccaneer Dave Moore, a former teammate of Cooper's and Corey Smith's (also on the boat), headed out.

They worked an area of white-capped, 6-foot seas. They wore ski masks and multiple layers. It didn’t matter that the odds of the men surviving were slim. They could not sit around. They knew the code.

Are they wavers? Who knows. (And after that show of courtesy, who cares?)

But this minute signal can only help on-the-water unity. Sure, we’re not always chipper enough to wave and smile across the bay. Yet we sometimes wave because we’re in paradise. A wave says, “Isn’t this nice? Lucky bein' us.”

It also can mean: “I have your back.”

What else can we do? Keep an eye on other boaters just in case. Make sure they're not in trouble. Offer someone your bait as you head back to the dock. And there's always the old standby: "How's the fishing?" (Careful with that one — you might not get an honest reply.)

Don’t be the guy who everyone knows as the “non-waver.” Some could care less. But others notice. I've heard it from a couple captains: "Oh well. He's one of them non-wavers."

Assuming you do have the ability to wave (and don’t take even that for granted), then why not?

I’m not saying a wave could save your life.

But were are humans. We tend to collect grudges like scaled sardines. You never know when a wave might keep a spot secret or spread a safety net below your feet.