Younger than 45? Boating safety course required before heading out on the water
IRONDEQUOIT, N.Y. – Summer boating season is nearly upon us, and if you’re planning to hit the water, there are some changes to the laws this year that you need to know about.
New York State is in the middle of implementing Brianna’s Law, which will eventually require all motorboat operators to complete an 8-hour boating safety course and obtain a certificate from the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. The law is being phased in and this year, everyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1978, must carry the certificate while operating a motorized vessel.
This means if you’re younger than 45, you need the course before hitting the water this year. Next year, everyone, regardless of age, will need it. Even if you’ve been boating for years, you have to present the certificate when asked.
“Enforcement is now a lot more prevalent,” Ken Dens notes.
Dens has been boating for decades, “I just find it relaxing, you just sit here, the gentle rocking of the waves, the beauty, the serenity,” he said while sitting on a boat in the middle of Irondequoit Bay. Dens owns the Fleet Boat Club in Rochester, so he’s got to stay current on all the safety regulations. “There’s been several changes in the laws over the last few years,” he explains.
Brianna’s Law is named after Brianna Lieneck, an 11 year-old Long Island girl who was killed in a 2005 boating accident. It’s being phased in over five years and by 2025, everyone, regardless of age or experience level, will be required to earn the certification. Failure to comply could result in a fine of between $100 and $250.
The course can be taken in-person or online and it covers the basics. “It touches on what you need to have in the boat for safety purposes, how to interact with other boats because it can get busy out here and there’s no lanes, no road lanes,” Dens says.
There is one exception to the law: “People who rent a boat don’t need to have the safety certificate; the rental operation is required to give them some instruction on how to safely operate the boat,” explains Dens.