I boat on the Columbia and Snake Rivers and there's often a LOT of boat traffic out there. I'm constantly on my binocs checking out nearby boats to see if they have a person in the water, whether they're anchored or not, etc.
And occasionally I do check out the bikinis on board.
Al-that looks like the paddleboard yoga class. There is a lady in Seattle who does a paddleboard yoga class a couple of mornings a week. Some days she has 15-20 people out do there doing their morning yoga!
I agree about having an AIS transponder helps more than it's a distraction. It won't show you vessels not equipped with a transponder but it will show you cruise ships, commercial tugs and container ships. The Class A equipped vessels can be seen way past 20 miles depending on your settings. Nothing beats a good set of eyes and radar helps so does FLIR. All of the above come at a cost.
Bill