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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007
mail in the course for scoring, and some
insurance companies offer discounts for
those who can show proof of completion.
Boating safety classes at local aquatic
centers also provide hands-on training
on how to handle motorboats, sailboats,
personal watercraft, and paddle craft
(rafts, canoes, kayaks, etc.).
Cal Boating also has a safety team that
visits marinas and water bodies each
weekend during boating season (from
Memorial Day through Labor Day),
promoting the ABCs of California
boating law and distributing free life
jackets, home study courses, and a
number of giveaways with educational and safety messages. Every
summer, Cal Boating’s safety team launches its own boat, which
functions as a floating billboard to encourage people to boat responsibly.
The challenge is to craft a warning message without frightening people.
Staffers sometimes use humor to disarm their audience, but the bottom
line is that the department wants California’s boaters to be safe and
come back to enjoy another day.
Additional department programs include the AquaSMART
curriculum series for grades K-12, Safe & Wise Water Ways poster
contest, Tri-State Boating Safety Fair, Wear It California life jacket
campaign, life jacket loaner and trade-in events, Spanish outreach, the
boating safety puppet show that travels to schools statewide and the
boat show outreach program.
The department has been advocating boating safety and education since
1957. With many positive results and awards, Cal Boating has provided
national leadership for innovative safety and education programs.