Thoughts on Boater Education

We all know what’s involved in getting a driver’s license. Pilots spend tens of thousands of dollars, and months to years of time, on just their basic license, and then constantly retrain throughout their lives. In boating they basically hand you the keys, tell you to have fun, and not to drink too many beers (wink wink). Yes I know there’s the relatively recent requirement for a boater education card, but it only covers the basics of safety and rules of the road. It’s also only required for people below a certain age (I guess older people must have all learned it in high school or something). What about weather, navigation, tides and currents, and proper radio usage? Not to mention hard skills like docking, anchoring, and how to rescue other boaters? I’m also finding that boater education courses are largely harder to find and of lesser quality than flight training. There’s also a bit of an attitude that it’s a little uncool to admit that you could benefit from training. Even boater education cards aren’t required for kayakers and canoeists. For years I never knew that I was required to carry a whistle, or to be careful of spreading invasive species that could stick to my canoe. Maybe it’s because men have sailed without licenses for thousands of years. As for me though, I’m signing up for all the training I can find, starting with a boater education card.