When is a Personal Water Craft not a Personal Water Craft? When it is longer than 3m and cruising around the Cape Peninsula.
That’s the outcome of over a decade of negotiation around the regulations governing Personal Water Craft, which are now allowed to operate within the Table Mountain National Park Marine Protected Area – but only those longer than 3m. Anything smaller than that must keep out, as per the previous rules.
In effect, the definition of Personal Water Craft has been changed to allow the vessels to operate inside the MPA, much to the relief of many involved with surfing, fishing and sea rescue.
The amendment was quietly gazetted last year and has now been incorporated into the PWC regulations published by the South African Maritime Safety Authority. It puts an end to confusion over PWCs, and puts the vessels on a par with others allowed inside the MPA.
“Every vessel known to man, from a kayaker to somebody with a pool noodle, to oil tankers, was permitted inside the MPA,” said one stakeholder involved in the negotiations around the regulatory change. “The only craft that was banned was a PWC. It made no sense.”
Not everybody is happy with the change, however. A local ski-boat administrator had this to say about PWCs: “We get a lot of complaints from people. They disrupt all the people around us.”
Not so, says one PWC enthusiast: “We’ve proved on numerous occasions that they are environmentally friendly and good for safety. Every other vessel known to man is permitted in the MPA and the only one banned was a PWC.”