Boating safety classes planned MADEIRA BEACH – The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11-3 offers monthly safe boating classes at its headquarters, 299 Boca Ciega Drive, Madeira Beach. Classes are conducted Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The cost is $40. The next class is Sept. 26. Successful completion of the Auxiliary’s About Boating Safely and Boating Skills and Seamanship classes could qualify boat owners for a discount on insurance.
The ABS class topics include know your boat, before you get underway, navigating, operating boats or personal watercraft safely, legal regulations of boats and how to handle emergencies. Topics for the Skills and Seamanship course include which boat is for you, equipment, trailering, handling a boat, navigation aids and rules, inland boating, chart navigation, lines and knots, weather and boating, and how to operate a boat radio. Call 391-5185.
Auxiliary plans boat safety class GULFPORT – U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 7-16, 3120 Miriam St., is offering a 13-week program titled Boating Skills and Seamanship. Cost is $40. Call 686-6940 or 321-4455.
Volunteers needed for boat festival CLEARWATER - Organizers are expecting 80,000 people to attend the first-ever Clearwater Super Boat Offshore National Championship and Festival on Oct. 2-4. Volunteers are needed. To apply, contact Sandy Ackley, volunteer coordinator at the Clearwater Community Sailing Center, 1001 Gulf Blvd., Clearwater FL 33767; 727-517-7776, 727-489-2355 or (Toll free) 1-866-960-2322; or e-mail her at superboatvolunteers@tampabay.rr.com. For more information, visit www.clearwatersuperboat.com. for more information.
Short film shows the power of boating More than 71 million people describe themselves as active boaters, which means they have participated in boating at least once in the past year. From fishing to water skiing to snorkeling and cruising, if escaping for a day is the goal, then the water is where it's at.
“It seems there aren't many places anymore where people can truly get away from it all, but being aboard a boat out on the water is one of them,” said Pepper Schwartz, a sociologist and relationship expert. “Once you leave the dock, it doesn't matter if you're only 20 minutes from home, you and your family feel as if you're a million miles away.”
It was that feeling and experience that inspired the short film titled “Good Run,” featured on the Web site www.DiscoverBoating.com. Directed by Academy Award nominee Wally Pfister, “Good Run” chronicles a man's life and how boating was the common thread weaved throughout his fondest memories.
Those introduced to boating early in life tend to stick with it.
A study by the National Marine Manufacturers Association found that 70 percent of American boaters had gone boating as a child.
“Good Run” exemplifies what it feels like to grow up boating. To watch the film, visit www.DiscoverBoating.com.
