
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 20, 1994                   TAG: 9403220094
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                    PAGE: BS-13   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

ADD A SEAWORTHY MIND TO A SEAWORTHY CRAFT

With his reading glasses cocked toward the end of his nose, Ron Grant listened attentively, frequently jotting notes, during a recent "Know Before You Go" state boating course being taught in Roanoke.

Grant, 48, is a newcomer to boating. He figures it isn't just important to have a seaworthy craft, but also a seaworthy mind.

"I think it should be mandatory that everyone take this class," he said.

There isn't any law in Virginia that says you must have instruction before you climb into a boat, turn the key and take off. But growing numbers of boaters, like Grant and the more than two-dozen people in the class, believe that common sense dicates that you do so.

Last year, 24,393 students turned out for safety courses taught by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U.S. Power Squadron and other organizations. That was more than a 4,000 increase over the previous year.

It means the state's voluntary boating safety program is doing a good job, said Jack Cox, boating education coordinator for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

In the Roanoke Valley-Smith Mountain Lake-Philpott Lake-New River Valley region, 1,079 boaters attended safety classes, said Paul Howell, the regional corrdinator for boating education. That was a slight increase over the year before, and a figure Howell would like to see improve.

No longer do boat classes attract just a handful of participants. Last year, instruction sponsored by the Smith Mountain Eagle newspaper drew 41 boaters; 31 showed up for a course at the Safety Council of Southwest Virginia in Roanoke; another 31 attended instruction sponsored by the Bassett Rescue Squad.

The courses cover subjects that include boat selection, boat hulls, motors, legal requirements, navigation rules, cruising, docking, anchoring, knot tying, accidents, fire on board, weather, trailering, water sports and personal watercraft. These are things boaters need to know both on and off the water, said Mac Grisso, of Roanoke, the commander of Flotilla 81 of the Coast Guard Auxiliary.

"It gives you all the basics," he said. "If you complete that, you are pretty much set."

The instruction ranges from two night courses presented by the game and fish department to 13 nights of classes taught by the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary.

Participants, like Grant, frequently come away saying, "It's been a very good course."

"We have given them good instruction and we haven't tied people up for an unreasonable time," said Howell.

But does the instruction help prevent boating mishaps?

Insurance companies apparently think so. Most offer a 10 percent to 20 percent discount to their boat policy holders who have successfully passed a course. That, alone, can make the effort beneficial, Howell said.

by CNB