Give the Gift of Safety

Trying to determine that ultimate holiday gift for yourself or a seafaring loved one? The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary has the perfect answer – give the gift of safety and take one of the many boating educational courses during 2005.

For the first time boater, we have Boating Safely. This National Association of State Boating Law Administrator’s (NASBLA)-approved course teaches the basics of boating safety. Lights, emergency procedures, and required equipment are all covered in this 8-hour class. This course normally satisfies state educational requirements (contact your state boating office for exact details).

Those who are interested in more than just the basics, but don’t want to get heavy into navigation, may be interested in our Boating Skills and Seamanship Course. This course tries to answer the question of which boat is best for you and what equipment you need (in addition to required equipment). We talk about trailing your boat and boat handling. After we’ve left that proverbial dock, we learn about the Rules of the Road and the signposts or buoyage.

Along the voyage, you’d like to stop, so we talk about marlinespike (lines and knots), and you’d also like to start again, so we go over powering your boat. Other topics include weather, your VHF radio, and other items of safety.

For those looking for more education, we have Basic Coastal Navigation and Advanced Coastal Navigation. These courses teach new and seasoned boaters the art of dead reckoning, calculation of tides and currents, and how to plot all these items on nautical charts and more importantly, how to read those nautical charts. The Basic course covers the nautical chart, charting instruments, the compass, dead reckoning and piloting. The Advance course covers such topics as current sailing, tides and tidal currents, radio-navigation, fuel and voyage planning. There are no pre-requisites for either course, though we do suggest understanding all the topics of the Basic course prior to undertaking the Advance course.

For those true sailors out there (the type that enjoys using canvas to harness the energy of the wind), we provide Sailing Fundamentals. This course, which satisfies the classroom portion of the American Sailing Association certification process, covers a diverse set of topics. In order to sail, you need to understand your energy source, so we talk about the wind, boat trim, sail handling, as well as the responsibilities of skipper and crew. Safety is discussed, as it pertains to your personal safety, the crew and the boat. Part of a safety education includes understanding the Rules of the Road, buoyage and seamanship skills.

In finishing your introduction to Sailing Fundamentals, we discuss the joys, and pitfalls of coastal cruising. Included are sailing under power and troubleshooting that engine, steering the compass course and what to do when you aground. Also, what to do when you run into heavy weather, understanding weather, and learning when not to go.

Finally, we offer a course entitled Navigating with GPS. This course discusses how a GPS works. It does not teach you how to use your specific GPS (because there are so many brands and models). This two-hour course covers basic navigation principles, because a solid background in navigation will increase your understanding of how to navigate with a GPS. Understanding the principles behind GPS navigation is crucial if you want to avoid hitting that island the lies between your dock and your destination.

Any time of year is the perfect time to stay nautical and increase your awareness of your boating environment. Take a boating course today.

For more information, contact your local Coast Guard Auxillary Flotilla by either finding them on http://www.cgaux.org or contacting your local Coast Guard unit at http://www.uscg.mil/default.asp.

[Editor’s Note:  ABA has joined forces with the U.S. Coast Guard to help promote its new public safe boating outreach initiative – “You’re in Command.” This initiative encourages all recreational boaters to take responsibility for their actions on the water.  And, an easy and effective way to improve your boating skills is by taking America’s Boating Course, a new basic, boating course, available to take online, via CD-Rom, or in a classroom setting – whichever you prefer. You can study at your own pace... on your own time... any place you have a computer to use.