Bill Breen

In case you may not have seen the notice in the newspaper, I want to call everyone’s attention to a change in the boating-safety education requirements in Florida effective January 1, 2010. It states that boat operators who were born on or after January 1, 1988, are now required to pass an approved boating-safety course and have a photo identification and a boating-safety card in their possession on the water in order to operate any boat with a 10-horsepower motor or larger. So, if you plan to fish any of the future tournaments, or have a person within that age group operate your boat, you are responsible to make sure the operator has met the necessary legal requirements. You might say, it is like needing a driver’s license to operate a car.

To help satisfy this new requirement by the state of Florida, the Coast Guard Auxiliary will be offering a boating-safety program on Mondays from 6:45 pm to 9:15 pm at the Stellar Building, 2900 Hartley Road, in Mandarin. For additional information and cost of the program, contact Bob at 904-721-1346.
The club tournament schedule for this year will begin with the River Tournament March 27.  Since all of our future tournaments will be offshore, we need to give a lot of thought to making sure our boat and equipment will perform satisfactorily and safely before heading out to our favorite spot offshore. We also need to have a plan to make sure that someone knows where to look for us, and what will happen, if our equipment fails us while offshore .

With the advent of cooler weather and fronts moving through our area, I think it is time to remind everyone of the need to take proper precautions when boating in heavy weather and rough seas. You may recall the incident, offshore Mayport, where a 21 foot Hydra Sport capsized in rough seas.

As cold weather fronts begin moving through our area over the next couple of months, we can expect to encounter more severe weather and rougher seas when we head out to our favorite fishing spot. Also, I would like to remind everyone that the Captain of a vessel is responsible for the safety of his/her vessel and the crew.