Think Safety, Boat Safely! Take a safe boating class . . .

The United States Coast Guard Auxiliary, Flotilla 87, has been teaching boating safety classes on Lake Anna since 1993. Instructors are state and Coast Guard certified.

Flotilla 87 offers the FREE Boat Virginia class monthly January-November. (See calendar here) This 8 hour course is approved by NASBLA, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators. The class satisfies the 2007 Virginia law establishing a boating safety education requirement, which is being phased in over the next several years.

This course covers the following topics:

• Boat terminology, handling your boat, navigation skills
• Safety equipment on your boat and how to use it
• Legal requirements for operating a boat
• Laws affecting PWC ( jet ski) operators
• ATONS (Aids to Navigation)
• Boating at night or in low visibility situations
• Handling emergencies

Upon successful completion of the exam at the end of this course, students will be issued a  DGIF card, signed by a Coast Guard Auxiliary instructor, that certifies the holder has completed the safe boating requirement. Boaters are required to carry that proof on board while operating a boat or jet ski.

Interested in taking the class?

• Please call Jean McCormick, Vice Commander, for reservations and more details at 571-236-5247 or email jeanmccor@aol.com.
• The Boat Virginia class is taught at the Louisa County Library located at 881 Davis Road, Louisa, VA from 8:30 to 4:30 unless otherwise specified.
• This is a FREE class.
• The 8 hour class includes a 30 minute lunch break. Participants are encouraged to bring a bag lunch. Refrigeration is available.

Auxiliarists are all about serving the Lake Anna community in which we live. We believe the more people learn and practice safe boating habits, the safer Lake Anna will be for all of us. If you prefer to take any of these classes as a group in your community, we will do our best to accommodate that.

Contact Jean McCormick, Vice Commander, at 571-236-5247 or email her at jeanmccor@aol.com for more details and information about Flotilla 87’s education program.