Captain Buddy's Boating Class

Description

Our Club designed two boating courses that were given internally by the Club’s very own Harbormaster, who holds numerous sailing and boating certificates including a USCG Captain’s License. Two courses were developed, one for our general membership and one designed for our 17 Junior Sailing instructors. The overall goal was to create a safer waterway around the Club.

Implementation

The course, designed for our general membership emphasized building confidence in your boating skills by first gaining an understanding of parts of the boat, generally handling guidelines and safety procedures. Members then spent two hours in a vessel, with our Harbormaster acting as a hands on coach, practicing docking and maneuverability. The course, designed for our Jr. Sailing Instructors was much more intense and focused on items such as fire suppression, emergency response (CPR, First Aid, AED) and strategic maneuvering of vessels with drills like pivot turning and holding position. Both courses had classroom and on-the-water components that expanded everyone's knowledge and skills in regard to safe boating. We can confidently say that after completion of these courses members and instructors alike displayed increased confidence and awareness when operating their vessels, therefore increasing the safety of the waterways around the Club.