1. "Aids to navigation" means buoys, beacons and other fixed objects in or on the water which are used to mark channels, obstructions to navigation, or restricted areas.

2. "Authorized emergency watercraft" means those watercraft of a municipal or county police or fire department, the United States Government, the state of Washington or the state of Oregon, equipped with red or blue lights and siren.

3. "Carrying passengers for hire" means carrying passengers in a watercraft on waters in the city of Vancouver, Washington for valuable consideration, whether given directly or indirectly or received by the owner, agent, operator, or other person having an interest in the watercraft. This shall not include trips where expenses for food, transportation or incidentals are shared by participants on an even basis. Anyone receiving compensation for skills or money for amortization of equipment and carrying passengers shall be considered to be carrying passengers for hire on waters in the city of Vancouver, Washington.

4. "City" means city of Vancouver, State of Washington.

5. "Fire officer" means fire department personnel authorized to enforce any applicable provisions of the Vancouver fire code.

6. "Idle-speed" means in gear without accelerated throttle.

7. "Operate" means to steer, direct or otherwise have physical control of a watercraft that is underway.

8. "Operator" means the person who steers, directs, or otherwise has physical control of a watercraft that is underway or exercises actual authority to control the person at the helm.

9. "Peace officer" means any officer, including police officer, authorized by law to execute criminal process, to make arrests, or to write citations for the violation of the statutes generally or of any particular statute or statutes or ordinance relative to the waterways in the state of Washington.

10. "Person" means and includes natural persons, associations, copartnerships and corporations, whether acting by themselves or by a servant, agent or employee; the singular number, when necessary, means the plural.

11. "Personal flotation device" means a buoyancy device, life preserver, buoyant vest, special purpose water safety device, buoyant cushion, ring buoy, or work vest, each of which must be United States Coast Guard approved.

12. "Personal watercraft" means a watercraft of less than sixteen feet which uses a motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on, or being towed behind the watercraft, rather than in the conventional manner of sitting or standing inside the watercraft.

13. "Reckless" or "recklessly" means acting carelessly and heedlessly in a wilful and wanton disregard of the rights, safety or property of another.

14. "Restricted area" means an area that has been designated to be used for, or closed to, certain purposes such as swimming, underwater diving, watercraft operation, and competitions or exhibitions on water, including races, regattas and trials therefore as approved by the director of Vancouver/Clark Parks and Recreation.

15. "Slow-no-wake" means the speed at which the particular watercraft being operated does not exceed idle-speed and does not create a discernible wake.

16. "Swimming" includes, but is not limited to, floating on any air mattress, inner-tube or similar inflatable device, as well as propelling or floating oneself in the water.

17. "Underwater diving" means the activity of submerging in water while equipped with snorkeling or scuba diving equipment.

18. "Watercraft" means every waterborne conveyance used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, including, but not limited to, air mattresses, inner tubes, personal watercraft, sail boats, sailboards, and any vessel propelled through use of an internal combustion motor or other artificial means. (Ord. M-3104 §5, 1993)