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Here we are in the middle
of the boating season, and I’m sure you don’t need me to tell
you that there are a lot of people out there who could use some boating
education. I’m not sure what to blame for the apparent epidemic
of ignorance these days. Maybe there has always been a certain percentage
of such people and they’ve just become more noticeable because there
are so many more boats.
Or maybe it’s
because there are a lot of new boaters out there buying large boats. Contributing
editor Kim Kavin stopped by the other day and related a story about a
couple she met on the train on the way into our office. In their mid-40s,
they’d just purchased a 50-foot Sea Ray Sundancer—their first
boat—on which they planned to seasonally commute between their homes
in the Northeast and the Caribbean. It sounded like a great plan, except
for their lack of experience. To their credit, they did intend to hire
a captain for their maiden voyage.
For whatever reason,
a lot of people realize that they need some instruction and are actively
searching for it, but don’t know where to find it. The current trend
toward mandatory licensing is only feeding this desire. The Coast Guard
Auxiliary and U.S. Power Squadron both offer classes in boating and seamanship,
some on advanced topics like electronic navigation. At the other end of
the spectrum are the various captain’s licenses offered by the Coast
Guard and classes for them operated by independent contractors. For many
people the former is too basic and the latter too commercially oriented.
They’re looking for something aimed right at the serious recreational
boater.
To fulfill that need,
maybe we need a new organization whose goal is to offer continuing education
to serious recreational boaters. Maybe we need something like Britain’s
Royal Yachting Association (RYA). It’s a nongovernmental, dues-supported
organization that offers a variety of ratings and oversees a testing program
to achieve them but leaves the actual instruction to privately operated
schools, to which boaters pay tuition.
The big difference between
the RYA and U.S. agencies is its scope. RYA really offers something for
every kind of recreational boater, on topics ranging from sailcruising
to windsurfing to inland waterways. On the powerboat side it has the RYA
National Powerboat Scheme, which offers two courses that roughly correspond
to our Coast Guard Auxiliary and Power Squadron basic boating courses;
completing one leads to an RYA National Powerboat Certificate. There is
also an advanced course that lasts two days and includes night navigation.
Beyond these are the
RYA’s Motorcruising Courses, of which there are 12. The two-day
Helmsman Practical Course is, according to the RYA’s Web site, “ideal
for the new owner who is conscious of the difficulty and potential hazards
of boat handling in the marina.” At the other end of the spectrum
are a series of courses and exams leading to the Association’s highest
rating, RYA Yachtmaster. Designed for long-distance voyagers, this 40-hour
course is comprehensive, to say the least, and leads to the RYA Offshore
Motor Cruising Practical Examination, which takes eight to ten hours to
complete.
Could a version of the
RYA work here? Lord knows, a little more knowledge would make the waterways
a lot safer and more pleasant for all of us.
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