Contributing Writer Tom Dawson
Writer / Instructor
On-the-Water Emergencies, Are You Prepared?
Have you taken a basic boating course?
Over the last few months, I have written about being prepared for emergencies on the water. Each article closed with a recommendation to take a basic boating course. Here in Florida the Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC) has list of approved courses. (www.myfwc.com/boating/safety-education/courses/) Passing one of these courses will earn the student a Florida Boater Safety Education I.D. Card.
The I.D. card is not required by all boaters in Florida, but many other states have begun making it a requirement for all boat operators. In Florida, the current requirement is that anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, who operates a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more must take and pass an approved boating safety course.
Depending on how you learn and retain information, these classes are offered in person and online. Having taught America’s Boating Course offered by the United States Power Squadron | America’s Boating Club, I am partial to in-person courses as it gives the students a chance to interact with the instructors and other students. Plus, as an instructor I was able to discuss how the different topics applied to the local waters.
During the COVID lockdown period, when I wasn’t able to teach, I was asked about the online alternatives so I tried a few to get a feel for what they were like. At the time the best of those was offered by the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety. (www.boatus.org/florida) It also has the benefit of being free.
That BoatUS online course has now been replaced that course with a new interactive boating safety course available in many states, also for free. The course and exam are approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators, FWC, and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard as exceeding the minimum requirements for the National Recreational Boating Safety Program.
Instead of being a “timed” course it can be taken at your own pace. According to the description “The course provides video demonstrations and sample common boating situations for students to interact with to better understand how to evaluate real-world instances.”
If you opt to take any of the online courses, I would still encourage you to find and take a local boating safety course or local waters seminar. Some boating clubs offer local waters seminars as a way to get you familiar with the area.
In Lee County the Cape Coral Sail and Power Squadron recognized the need for a local waters seminar and started offering one in early 2024. This two-hour seminar is offered multiple times during the snowbird season. The material in the seminar is based on my book “Barret Bonden’s Local Knowledge Recommended - Things You Wish Someone Had Told You About Boating Here!” For upcoming dates and times visit the club’s website at www.ccsaps.org.
Stay safe on the water!
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Thomas E. Dawson
Cape Coral, Florida
Thomas E. Dawson is a member of the Cape Coral Sail and Power Squadron. If you plan of visiting Lee County, Florida, Dawson is the author of two books about boating there, Safe Boating in Southwest Florida Cape Coral Edition and Barret Bonden’s Local Knowledge Recommended - Things You Wish Someone Had Told You About Boating Here! Both books are available on Amazon.
