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20
50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007
Mike also worked on safety education programs for Cal Boating,
including the Home Study Course. “Boating home study courses were
invented right here,” says Mike. The original course, The Adventure
Afloat Program, was geared for high school students and included
an instructor’s version. Later, home study materials were made
available to the public and even sold by Cal Boating for $2.00. With
modifications, other states began to use California’s course for their
own boating programs. The idea developed by the department more
than 30 years ago is now used by all states, and Cal Boating provides
35,000 copies of its “California Boating: A Course for Safe Boating” to
boaters each year.
Mike’s efforts on the 1986
Boating Safety Report
complemented his other
education projects and are among the accomplishments of which he is
most proud. “This report helped justify the alcohol level law that was
later passed by the California Legislature, which gave law enforcement
officers the tools to fight drunk boating,” notes Mike. “Before the
legislation, it was really the ‘Wild West’ out there on the water.”
Mike’s successful development of the Sacramento State Aquatic Center as
well as three California river projects has been recognized with awards
from the States Organization for Boating Access (SOBA). He is also
worked on a number of Cal Boating programs: accident reporting, law
enforcement officer training, and facilities project management. But his
heart lies in boating trails. “I’ve been an active kayaker on all the state’s
rivers,” says Mike, “and I saw the need to improve public access in various
locations.” When state bond funds did not come through to support some
of his boating trails access projects, Mike sought some of the federal
money administered by the U.S. Coast Guard. “Each state is entitled to
a share of these federal funds based on its number of registered boaters,”
explains Mike, “so we tapped into this source for California.”
Boating Instruction
Safety Center
The Aquatic Center at Lake Natoma,
operated by Sacramento State
University, grew from an idea that Cal
Boating employee Mike Ammon had
more than 30 years ago: to build an
aquatic education facility that would
provide in-the-water and in-the-
classroom boating safety classes. In
1981, Mike discovered that waterfront
land controlled by the California
Department of Parks and Recreation
was available at Lake Natoma. State
Parks was going to use an old paint
center on the site for storage, but Cal
Boating and CSU Sacramento had
another idea.
Starting out with just a few 40-foot
storage containers and the purchase
of kayaks, sailboats and canoes, the
Aquatic Center took off and slowly
began to grow. Recently, Cal Boating
provided $3,850,000 in capital outlay
funds to create and improve this
boating instruction and safety center,
which is modeled after the Mission Bay
Aquatic Center in San Diego. The new
Aquatic Center, completed in 2005,
has evolved to a top-notch facility with
10,000 boaters and members of the
public participating each year.
(continued page 25)
The boating education course
developed by Cal Boating 31
years ago (first edition shown at
right), is now used in all states.
Cal Boating provides 35,000
copies of “California Boating:
A Course for Safe Boating” to
boaters each year.
Department sponsors legislation to
provide grants to public agencies for
construction of floating restrooms, thus
lessening environmental degradation.
“S.S. Relief” begins its voyage!
...1976