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Learning boat safety in free DEC course

The state Department of Environmental Conservation in Ray Brook once again offers a free NEw York State Boat Safety Certificate course. (Photo provided — Diane Chase)

My family loves to be out on the water. Around the Adirondacks it certainly feels that everywhere we turn, we can enter thousands of rivers, ponds, and lakes.

Enjoying the water isn’t enough. We want to make sure everyone knows waterway rules. Last year my daughter took her first New York State Boat Safety Certificate course and walked away being a card-carrying member of the Safe Boating “club.” She was well aware of most of the information, having been on the water her whole life. She asked if I would join her and I welcomed the opportunity for a refresher boating course to sharpen my existing skills.

When we walked into the classroom, I wasn’t sure what to expect. We were a diverse group of boating enthusiasts. Everyone was there with their own agenda. Most students were boat owners, though the youngest in our class was an 11-year-old who had already taken the class the previous year. Although not required for non-boat owners (exceptions below) there are plenty of people filling seats for this entry-level boat safety course. The two-day course provides basic information to keep you, your family, and other boaters safe. The Ray Brook course is also free.

To date people renting boats are not legally required to have a safe boating certificate. Keep in mind that boat liveries are safety conscious and will make sure that a boat renter knows the rules of the waterways. That said, I’ve also been on the water and have had powerboat drivers either not know or ignore the “Right Of Way Rules” and on-water vessel hierarchy.

Exceptions include Jet Skis and children under 18-years of age. Anyone operating a personal watercraft (a Jet Ski) is required to have completed an approved safety course or must be accompanied on board by someone 18 years of age or older who has taken such a course. All children under the age of 18 operating a motorized boat are required to have successfully taken a boat safety course.

The course consists of a variety of introductory boat safety elements including pdf requirements, vessel hierarchy, invasive species, navigational markers, and trailering. This year the two-day course is being offered July 15, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and July 16, 9 aa.m. to noon at the DEC Region 5 Ray Brook office to anyone 10 years-old and older. There is a test following the last day of instruction and a temporary certificate is issued upon passing the course. Call 518-897-1303 during regular business hours for more information.

Though I highly recommend taking the classroom course, BOATUS does offer a free online Boating Safety Course at www.boatus.org/newyork/. Keep safe and enjoy all those Adirondack waterways!

Diane Chase is the author of the Adirondack Family Activities guidebook series, Adirondack Family Time: Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities.” For more

family-friendly activities go to www.AdirondackFamily

Time.com.

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