SAFETY & PROFICIENCY (30hr)

Service Description

Our 30-Hour Course is given afloat, usually on your own boat and typically runs over five or six days and includes 20 hours of sea-time. We will explain all aspects of your craft from bow to stern, pointing out their purpose, proper use and preventative maintenance. We do this by giving you our hands-on approach to training. We will also help you determine if your gear is working properly and who to contact for repair or replacement if necessary. Before casting off we will review procedures for securing your craft and extra measures to take when rough weather or hurricanes are forecast. We will point out all of the services available from your dock or marina and how to be a good neighbor to fellow boaters and a good tenant for the establishment. We will go through pre-launch procedure to check all on-board systems to ensure they are operating properly. This checkout includes verifying adequate fuel, full battery charge, and recommended backup equipment should your propulsion fail. Once underway we will guide you through the tight maneuvering that is often required to leave the marina and precautions to take should a collision appear imminent. After we are clear of the marina, we will again review the rules of the road for inland waterways and where exceptions are in place, talking through the steps to take and why, all while allowing you to ask questions. The captain will point out navigational buoys and other things to be observant of while discussing the inherent dangers inherent of being on the water. We will cruise to a spot off the main channel and go through anchoring procedures and explain the length of line or chain needed to avoid drifting and dragging. We will also practice the procedures for man over- board, noting that this happens most often when in rough seas. These same rough seas often prevent you from seeing a person in the water due to wave peaks and the struggling of the victim. It is essential that you maneuver the boat in a way that gets you back to the exact spot where your guest fell. This, of course, is a perfect reason for wearing a life jacket. Even seasoned swimmers have difficulty when they suddenly find themselves in the water. Our 30-Hour Course covers all that the 20-Hour course does, but this includes 30 hours of sea-time. The captain will provide a running critique of the student’s performance, correcting him or taking the helm when the situation demands. The captain will simulate a numbe