Amid rush to Minn. lakes, calls to require boater education get louder
Date Posted: February 21, 2022
Source: MPR News

Staff Pick: This is one of the news stories our staff is reading this week.

Nisswa Marine sales manager Jeremy Wiczek saw firsthand how the COVID-19 pandemic has spurred Minnesotans to spend more time on lakes and rivers.

In the past two years, interest in boating has grown by leaps and bounds, Wiczek said, especially among families.

"We went through this period of, ‘How are we going to sell boats?’ to, ‘Oh wow, this is an amazing opportunity for people to spend more time with their family,’” he said. 

The brisk sales mean some people buying boats didn't grow up on the water — they’ve had to learn the ropes, to use a nautical term. Wiczek spends a lot of time educating boat buyers on how to safely operate their new purchase, along with proper etiquette.

Out on the lake, he’s been known to offer respectful advice to other boaters who are driving too fast or too close to other boats. Most of the time, they just don't know any better, Wiczek said.

Read more.

Comment Submitted by brian richard mcmahon - February 23, 2022

We are seeing the same thing everywhere.  Glad to see more people enjoying the water and sales people pitching in to make it safe.

Hope the government agencies and NGOs are increasing availability of good training.  What new boaters need is a lot of discussion about safety, boat handling, radio use, towing, courtesy and launching/hauling.  While navigation, weather forecasting and more advanced topics are very important, I think a new boaters course should focus strongly on the basics of boat handling as typical introductory courses are too short to adequately cover all topics.  Maybe even move the course out of the classroom onto the water.  Watching internet boat ramp fails is sometimes amusing but often scary to see how many people don't know how to launch/haul a boat and operate it.

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