Florida Boater Safety Course for Kids

I stumbled across a free Florida boater safety class for kids

I found a free Florida Boater Safety Course for Kids! Read on…

While I was busy researching my next blog post about saltwater fishing, I stumbled across an interesting piece of information on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website. It stated that all boaters born in 1988 or later need to take a boating safety course and carry the certification ID when they man their boat. Yeah, I really didn’t know that myself, and I suspect not many others do either. They went on to provide a list of places to take the course in a classroom or online with course prices ranging from $14.95 to $29.95. I clicked through the options, my throat going dry at the words ‘exam’ and ‘certification testing’ and ‘unlimited testing.’ Yikes! Then, at the very bottom of the FWC page, under all of that,  they added that kids 12-18 can get certified by taking the Outdoor Education Class on the Florida Virtual School website which not only gets them certified, but also counts towards their necessary on-line class requirement, a PE requirement and .5 credit for high school!  I’m quoting them on that, but will double check on the PE credit thing. However, the best part:  it is FREE! And FWC approved!  Wow, that sounded like an all around winner, especially for my own child, who is slowly slogging through their health class in disinterest for a Physical Education Credit. Okay, I confess,  I did the happy dance! An Outdoor Education class sounds pretty nifty to this mom anyway. I wonder if they teach kayaking and survival skills as well!  The Outdoor Education  course description adds that hunting safety is also taught. Which, to me, is not a bad thing at all.

You can read the details and follow their links from the official FWC website. The Virtual School mention is at the bottom of their page. Yeah, always look at the bottom of the page!  Feel free to pass this information to any boating friends with kids & have a great week!