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Water Ways
Ray Pendleton
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Start new year right with a boating course
Have any of you recreational boaters out there made New Year's resolutions?
After all, 2007 is just hours away.
If you haven't, why not resolve to become a more safety-conscious boater by enrolling in the Honolulu Sail & Power Squadron's "Boat Smart" course? In fact, why not resolve to invite someone you would like to learn about safe boating to join you?
Over four million people nationwide can attest to the fact that it's a great way to get into boating and most family members -- teenagers and up -- are eligible to enroll.
The Honolulu Squadron -- a unit of the United States Power Squadron -- has won two prestigious awards for "Excellence in Education" in the Western Pacific region, so it is well qualified to provide the instruction.
Also, this course usually fits into most people's busy schedules because it is offered as a four-hour class on three consecutive Saturday mornings. And, including the comprehensive instruction manual, it only costs $40.
Using a combination of classroom lectures and home-study assignments, the course will provide instruction for nearly every boating interest, from safely operating powerboats, sailboats, and personal watercraft, to even how to tow a boat on a trailer.
The first class will begin by covering boating basics, starting with boating terminology, and then examining the differences between the hull designs and construction of sail and power crafts.
A subsequent class will focus on fundamental sail and powerboat handling maneuvers that include casting off, turning, stopping, docking, anchoring and boating courtesies. Adverse boating conditions and first-aid will also be included.
This will be followed by instruction on basic boat piloting skills of speed-time-distance calculations, dead reasoning, and course plotting, as well as safe near-shore navigating near bridges, breakwaters, and jetties.
Students will be taught how to read charts, use a compass, understand tides and currents, and how to recognize such aids to navigation as buoys and range markers.
Conducting normal and emergency communications using marine VHF radios and emergency position-indicating beacons (EPIRBs) will also be addressed.
Finally, local, national, and international laws that boaters must abide by will be explained, including those dealing with pollution, fire safety, marine sanctuaries, and homeland security.
It should be noted that those passing the Boat Smart final exam will often qualify for lower boat insurance rates as the course meets the educational standards of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.
The first class of this course begins next Saturday at 8 a.m. at the Waikiki Yacht Club (at the Diamond Head entrance to Ala Moana Park), but because there is always limited seating, those interested should call 395-5080 soon for reservations.
Hopefully, boaters will discover this course is just the beginning and they will become members in the Squadron so they can qualify for its more advanced courses.