Given the jack*** moves I've seen on any typical weekend (especially holiday weekends,) everyone should be required to pass a competency test before being allowed to pilot a watercraft, tow skiers, tow tubers, etc...

The waterway is getting more and more crowded. Martini toting weekend warrior Raleigh-ites with $150000 40 foot fiberglass behemoths swamp families with kids in 14 foot jonboats regularly. Every year someone either smashes their kid into a pier with a towed tube, or besotted boneheads get "lost at sea" when they had no business being on the water in that kind of weather anyway.

My advice: get certified, check your gear, drink responsibly, and check the weather/tides before you go.

and don't forget the drain plug!