Should I take a Boating Course, Since I just Moved to Florida?
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Welcome to Paradise. I have been on the water since I was a kid. I actually taught sailing starting at 13, at a day camp on Cape Cod. I have since come to my senses and only go boating with a Yamaha engine with 200HP or more. It's just more fun and practical. We sandbar, tube and cruise. It's all fun. But Florida requires a different skill set than Cape Cod. Especially the Gulf Coast. You need to understand the tides (sometimes only once a day), the intra-coastal channel marking system and water depth. I took a class but, the more time spent on the water the more mistakes you can learn from. I have gone hard aground; three miles out in the middle of Sarasota Bay. Lesson learned. Occasionally, you'll meet someone who is 100% self taught and they usually have some good local insights. But, I think throughout history there has only been one untrained boater that ended up doing exceptionally well. The rest of us n...