Even with the peak summer season still months away, things are already heating up for area boating instructors.
With the recent enactment of the Boating Education Act, which requires all operators of personal watercraft to pass a certified boating course if they have not already done so, instructional facilities could be seeing interest in record numbers this year. The act also requires that boaters born after 1985 who operate a boat of at least 10 horsepower complete a certified safety course.
Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Boating Safety Coordinator Mike Scanlon said he feels the legislation will help improve safety on the waters.
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"It will help young boaters to develop safe boating habits and to lower the number of boating accidents, fatalities and injuries," he said.
According to Scanlon, more than 10,000 Rhode Islanders are on record at the DEM as having already received boating safety certification.
In cooperation with DEM, the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) will begin offering seven-session non-credit safety courses geared toward sail and powerboat owners this week at the school’s Flanagan campus in Lincoln and at the Knight campus in Warwick.
Depending on public demand – which is expected to be high, according to CCRI spokesperson Holly Susi – classes at other CCRI satellites may also be scheduled this spring.
Charles Zechel, the new executive director of the Community Boating Center at India Point in Providence, said his program attracts both experienced boaters and newcomers to the sport. Last year’s youth sessions attracted 350 youngsters to its regular class sessions and weekly outreach programs the school holds for groups such as the Boys and Girls Club.
The Community Boating Center had about 250 adult members last year and projects about 350 this season. A new building and "sailorships" – scholarships for interested youth who couldn’t afford the classes on their own – should expand the membership even more, once the center opens for business again in May.
"Our program has grown every year," said Zechel.
Jon Howard, coordinator for adult and community programs at the Edgewood Sailing School in Cranston, said his program too has experienced growth in the past several years, and is already receiving phone inquiries for this season.
"The number of boats and the number of children and adults coming through is increasing each year," he said.
Last summer, Edgewood had 100 children enrolled in its nine-week sailing program.
Perhaps the most dramatic program growth in recent years has been at Sail Newport, a non-profit public facility that provides boating instruction and rentals. Kim Hapgood, the organization’s program director, said their youth program is "huge," and has experienced a growth spurt of 70 percent over the last three years.
"The demand is there for it to be even bigger," she said, adding that some of the youth sessions scheduled for this season are already full.
While March and April are typical months for promotions, Sail Newport started advertising its summer class schedule in mid-January. The organization offers one- and two-week all-day programs for beginning sailors and four- and eight-week programs for more advanced boaters.
Sail Newport’s youth program serves as many as 400 five- to 17 year-olds primarily from the Aquidneck Island area. A breakdown of last year’s enrollment showed that 43 percent were from Newport, 15 percent came from Portsmouth, 15 percent from Middletown and 7 percent from Jamestown, Hapgood said.
Sail Newport’s adult offerings have also expanded in recent years, albeit more slowly, she said, because of the organization’s flexibility in operating hours. Even after Sept. 11, there was still a demand for boat rentals.
"I think that has to do with the access we provide people," Hapgood said. She said early morning, evening and weekend hours meets people’s scheduling needs. "As far as group instruction, the emphasis has been on trying to provide instructional opportunities for people who are working," she added.
Hapgood said July is definitely the peak month for sailing, when out-of-towners tend to join the locals on the water.
"Group instruction draws predominately from the Rhode Island community, but you can participate in a session if you’re in town for a week, so it appeals to visitors as well," she said. "It’s a mixed group, but it does draw heavily on the Rhode Island community."
