Navigating Safety: Becoming a Licensed Boat Operator in New Jersey
Ahoy Matey!
FREE BOAT SAFETY CLASSES OFFERED ALL SPRING AND SUMMER IN BRIGANTINE
text ANTHONY J. MAZZIOTTI III // photos JOE GIANNATTASIO, USCG AUXILIARY PUBLIC AFFAIRS & KELLY AND CRAIG PHOTOGRAPHY
“Mother, mother ocean, I have heard your call. Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall.”
If the thought of heeding the call of the ocean – much like these famous first lyrics of the late Jimmy Buffett’s song “A Pirate Looks at Forty” – ever crosses your mind, you’ll first have to become a licensed boat operator. And before you can earn that license you need to complete a boat safety course.
As luck would have it – boat safety courses are offered right on the island. Per Flotilla Staff Officer Bob Ward, New Jersey requires all boating operators to have completed a boating safety course to operate on the state’s waters. A class for anyone age 13 and older taught by Ward is available twice in the month of April, and monthly in May, June and July. The class is a one- day event that covers everything from jet skis to power boats and everything in between. During the last part of the class each student takes a 60-question, multiple-choice test.
“Once they pass the test, they are issued their New Jersey Boating Safety Certificates. They now meet the boating requirements for the State of New Jersey. The big thing is safety,” Ward said of the class. “How do you get out there and have a good time but also be safe.”
Some of the highlights of the class are: the use of lifejackets including how to size them and take care of them; a review of all safety equipment that must be on board the vessel; the navigation system of buoys and beacons; boating laws and how to handle boating emergencies such as hypothermia; boating accidents; and what to do if someone falls overboard.
What the course isn’t is a tutorial of how to operate the boat of your choosing.
“We tell them what they can or can’t do but not ‘here’s how you drive,’ because all boats are different,” Ward explained.
Ward has been teaching the course for four years, although he’s been involved with the Flotilla for six years since he retired and moved to Brigantine. A novice boater at the time, he quickly became more involved with the auxiliary which gave him the opportunity to do more boating and learn more about boat safety. Spreading knowledge about boat safety is the name of the game for Ward, especially since the state of New Jersey doesn’t require a boating license to purchase a boat, meaning anyone can buy a boat, but not everyone can operate a boat.
He told a story about a time where he walked by the dock and saw a family with two small children getting on a boat and the mother asked the father if they should put lifejackets on the kids. Ward, overhearing the conversation, let them know that in the state of New Jersey anyone younger than age 13 is required to wear a life jacket.
“It was a situation where the people didn’t know and didn’t have the proper education and it was an opportunity to get the word out there and get them out on the water safely,” he explained.
Ward noticed that there was an uptick in boat sales during the COVID-19 pandemic and, while the Coast Guard and the Flotilla were shut down, there was an increase in accidents possibly due to uneducated boaters getting out on the water without proper knowledge.
“As soon as we were able to get out there teaching and getting the public educated the accidents and fatalities went down,” Ward said. “I find that very satisfying to get safety information out to the public,”
For those looking to sign up or to request more information, email Ward at boatsafelyinNJ@gmail.com. He will provide you with a link to register at that time.
