INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Operating a watercraft no matter how large, small, or powerful the vessel may be, comes with a huge amount of responsibility. Similar to driving a car, one wrong move on a boat could mean major damage or injury; those wrong moves are made all too often according to Larry Lott, a volunteer with the Vero Beach Power Squadron.
Lott helps organize the Vero Beach Power Squadron’s “America’s Boating Course” (ABC) held every other month at the Power Squadron’s facility located on Acacia Road near the Barber Bridge.
“In 2013, there were 736 boating accidents in the state…which resulted in 62 fatalities,” Lott said. Approximately 70 percent of those accidents were linked back to driver error, Lott added.
In order to make a dent in those large numbers at least locally, Lott said the Vero Beach Power Squadron conducts the ABC class with one, 6-hour session every other month. On Saturday, 18 boaters took the class and became State certified for boat safety.
Though Lott strongly encourages anyone operating a boat of any size or shape to invest the $35 in the one-time class, for anyone born before Jan. 1, 1988, it’s the law.
As of 2010, “boat operators who were born on or after Jan. 1, 1988, must have a Florida Boating Safety Identification Card to operate a motorboat with 10 horsepower or more,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Simply put, there are what Lott calls, the “rules of the road” while operating a boat on the water. “Most people driving around out there don’t know those rules, and we’re trying to fix that one person at a time,” Lott said.
The ABC class is a basic level course that covers safety equipment and regulations on any boat, navigation, rules and regulations, VHF Radio, weather, how to deal with crisis, personal watercraft such as jet skiis and paddle sports, and Florida state boating laws.
“We try to make the class enjoyable for everyone,” Lott said. “Of [Saturday’s] four instructors, we had more than 100 years of combined boating experience up there.”
At the conclusion of the course, students take a cumulative test. The state of Florida mandates an 80 percent or higher test score in order to receive the proper boating safety identification card. According to Lott, the vast majority of the Vero Beach Power Squadron students pass the test with flying colors.
Whether a person intends to operate a paddle boat, jet ski, speed boat or any other thing that floats on the water, there are always other people to consider and be aware of, things that often never cross a boaters mind until he or she is faced with a problem, Lott said.
“I’m not saying our class solves all the problems,” Lott said. “But it’s a step in the right direction.”
The next class offered by the Vero Beach Power Squadron will take place on Sept. 13. The Sebastian Power Squadron as well as the US Coast Guard’s Boating Safety Division in Fort Pierce also conduct the ABC Course throughout the year. More information on those courses can be found on their respective websites: http://www.sebastianinletps.org/ and http://www.uscg.mil/d7/staFortPierce/resources.asp
