Boating safety class scheduled, so sign up

It’s never too late to learn something new, especially when it pertains to protecting oneself and others from serious harm that could have been avoided.

Enter the Coast Guard Auxiliary in Ocean Pines, where its last boating safety course of the season will be held on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Ocean Pines Library.

Boating on an empty body of water is not without its hazards if people don’t know what they’re doing or are acting irresponsibly, but when a body of water is as crowded as the coastal bays can be on a summer weekend, it can be downright scary.

This is especially so for novice boaters who don’t know or follow the rules of the road, don’t know basic boating courtesy or routine operating and safety procedures.

The problem is further aggravated by the inevitable other guy who believes that throwing big wakes, running flat-out from launching to lunchtime and drinking to excess is what having fun on the water is all about.

That’s why knowing how to avoid trouble and what to do if trouble does occur is more vital to an enjoyable boating experience than simply understanding which way to push the throttle.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary’s mission is to show new boaters how to take care of themselves and their passengers, as well as to provide a bit of a refresher course to those whose knowledge of boating laws and basic seamanship may have accumulated a little rust during their offseason landlubber phase.

The unofficial motto of the Coast Guard may be, “You have to go out; you don’t have to come back,” but that’s clearly not an option recreational boaters want to entertain and is why they should sign up for this course … if they haven’t taken it already.