Hamilton Reef
03-04-2005, 10:55 AM
Now hear this: Power Squadron urges boaters to learn the ropes
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0503/04/A02-107628.htm
Boater education is a wonderful thing, especially as it pertains to the guy coming straight at you in a 600-horsepower Boston Whaler.
"At that moment," says John Niebieszczanski of the Anchor Bay Power Squadron, "you hope he's as educated as you are."
Today's weather forecast predicts cold, clouds and possible snow, with more of all three through the weekend. The lakes are icy and the snowbanks are crusted with that attractive gray-brown grime. What better time, asks Niebieszczanski, to think about water safety?
Local chapters of the nonprofit United States Power Squadron have been holding classes for 90 years, on the theory that boats are much less effective when the hull is facing upward. Many classes are about to start, Niebieszczanski says, and even if the closest one to you has begun, it might not be too late to climb aboard.
Niebieszczanski -- it's pronounced knee-be-SHAN-ski, just like it looks -- owns a Sea Ray named John's Impulse II. Like the original John's Impulse, it was purchased without consultation with the lovely Mrs. Niebieszczanski.
"She came home and there was a 30-foot boat in the back yard," he says. They live along a canal in Algonac, so it wasn't actually on the grass. But that was beside the point, and he doubts seriously that there will be a John's Impulse III.
He's been boating since he was a young lad in Hamtramck, spending summers on the water in Algonac. When he sees a flag bobbing on the surface, he understands that divers are somewhere beneath it.
"You hate to run over divers," he says wisely, but not all boaters know that. In fact, you can theoretically walk into Colony Marine in St. Clair Shores, put a $400,000 Meridian 411 Sedan on your MasterCard and zip off into the sunset without knowing your aft from your L-shaped lounge seat.
Boat dealers, it should be noted, do not encourage that sort of behavior. Salesman Mike Bart at Colony says it's important to properly match the boater with the vessel, and to make sure said boater has a clue. "It's safer for them," he points out, "safer for everybody else on the water and safer for us, since we're out there, too."
Therefore, he joins Niebieszczanski in recommending www.usps.org as a sensible destination for boat owners. If you've resisted modern fripperies like dripless shaft logs and computers, there's also a toll-free number to check on class availability: (888) FOR-USPS.
Classes are free, though there's typically a $30 to $50 fee for course materials and books. It's a small price to pay for learning that gas fumes tend to settle low in a boat, and that if you don't run your blower for five minutes before you crank the engine, there's a good chance the only direction you'll be going is up.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/metro/0503/04/A02-107628.htm
Boater education is a wonderful thing, especially as it pertains to the guy coming straight at you in a 600-horsepower Boston Whaler.
"At that moment," says John Niebieszczanski of the Anchor Bay Power Squadron, "you hope he's as educated as you are."
Today's weather forecast predicts cold, clouds and possible snow, with more of all three through the weekend. The lakes are icy and the snowbanks are crusted with that attractive gray-brown grime. What better time, asks Niebieszczanski, to think about water safety?
Local chapters of the nonprofit United States Power Squadron have been holding classes for 90 years, on the theory that boats are much less effective when the hull is facing upward. Many classes are about to start, Niebieszczanski says, and even if the closest one to you has begun, it might not be too late to climb aboard.
Niebieszczanski -- it's pronounced knee-be-SHAN-ski, just like it looks -- owns a Sea Ray named John's Impulse II. Like the original John's Impulse, it was purchased without consultation with the lovely Mrs. Niebieszczanski.
"She came home and there was a 30-foot boat in the back yard," he says. They live along a canal in Algonac, so it wasn't actually on the grass. But that was beside the point, and he doubts seriously that there will be a John's Impulse III.
He's been boating since he was a young lad in Hamtramck, spending summers on the water in Algonac. When he sees a flag bobbing on the surface, he understands that divers are somewhere beneath it.
"You hate to run over divers," he says wisely, but not all boaters know that. In fact, you can theoretically walk into Colony Marine in St. Clair Shores, put a $400,000 Meridian 411 Sedan on your MasterCard and zip off into the sunset without knowing your aft from your L-shaped lounge seat.
Boat dealers, it should be noted, do not encourage that sort of behavior. Salesman Mike Bart at Colony says it's important to properly match the boater with the vessel, and to make sure said boater has a clue. "It's safer for them," he points out, "safer for everybody else on the water and safer for us, since we're out there, too."
Therefore, he joins Niebieszczanski in recommending www.usps.org as a sensible destination for boat owners. If you've resisted modern fripperies like dripless shaft logs and computers, there's also a toll-free number to check on class availability: (888) FOR-USPS.
Classes are free, though there's typically a $30 to $50 fee for course materials and books. It's a small price to pay for learning that gas fumes tend to settle low in a boat, and that if you don't run your blower for five minutes before you crank the engine, there's a good chance the only direction you'll be going is up.