I recently renewed my 100 Ton Master Captain’s License which got me reflecting on all the hours I invested in changing my career from one that was automotive focused to one that centers on boats and marine surveys. I’ve landed in a job that I truly love and you can’t beat the office and view!
This shift to marine surveyor required hundreds of hours of classes (often away from my wife and dog children in dorm rooms like I was a 20-something college kid), studying online, practicing in the field alongside mentors, exams, exams and more exams. I studied with some prestigious organizations like the American Boat and Yacht Council and Chapman School of Seamanship. I learned a ton with damage & claims survey certifications, through electrical, technical and infrared thermography accreditations, and getting endorsements in radar, towing and radio operation. The list goes on (you can see the whole thing here) and it’s these classes that have given me such a solid foundation for conducting marine surveys.
I ran across a recreational boating quiz the other day that is made up mostly of information from the United States Coast Guard. The USCG site gives lots of information about boater education, boating regulations and boating accident statistics.
While the quiz is more fun than academic study, the questions made me think about how important it is to be educated if you love passing time on the water.
The USCG site says ‘human error remains the leading cause of boating accidents.’ So it makes sense to learn the rules of the water, how to safely operate your vessel, and what your responsibilities are.
Many boaters usually carry a signal flag to let other boaters know if they are in distress. This flag is approxmately 3 ft by 3 ft and has the following attributes:
- solid red or orange
- red with a diagonal white stripe
- white with a red triangle
- orange with a black square and circle
Happy to report that I scored a 100% 😊. They say the average score for the quiz is 70%. How do you measure up?
