The summer breeze fans gently across your face as you glide beyond the rocky and steadfast shoreline. The sun feels comfortably warm on your skin as the briny spray mists your face. You ever so deeply inhale the salty air and smile contentedly as you try to savor the moment. You are fascinated by the tranquility of the whole boating experience. But, then, suddenly you are startled by the sound of a speeding boat heading directly toward you. Quicker and louder it gets! Closer it approaches! You tug the helm of your boat, punch the throttle, and get out of a collision path just in time to avoid an accident.

Regrettably, this is not always the result. The recent tragic boating accident on the Great South Bay, where Brianna Lieneck, 11, was killed is a reminder of the many issues of safe boating. Also, a personal reminder for me was several weeks ago when I was on board the 31' vessel Luff Story, which collided near Flashing 5 with a 42' Hinckley during a sailboat race. This was the second accident I was involved in where questions of who held right of way were confusing to even experienced crew members with about a hundred years of racing experience among us.

Recreating on boats, whether it is on your own or by being associated with an organization like Sagamore Yacht Club, is a fun experience for virtually everyone. However, such fun can quickly turn to tragedy as we saw with the Lieneck family. The details of their accident are still being investigated and many questions are probably being asked by all involved about what could have been done differently. What we can all learn from this accident is to be more cautious and to see the fun in learning more about being a better boater.

Operating a boat safely is very important to setting the stage to having fun while boating. We all learn to drive a car by taking driver's education classes and passing various aptitude and skill tests to receive a driver's license. This same attention should be given to operating a boat. As a founding member of the Oyster Bay Coast Guard Auxiliary and past member of the Oyster Bay Power Squadron I have received enough training and experience to openly declare it ridiculous that most boaters have no problem spending thousands and sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars on floating objects with no heed to taking even a single safe boating course.

Taking boating classes can be fun, help save money on insurance fees, help you meet people who have boats, and are just a smart idea. The classes are often interactive and families who take the classes together learn to share different duties and understand the boat when out recreating together. Both the Oyster Bay Power Squadron and the Oyster Bay Coast Guard Auxiliary offer some well planned courses over the winter at Sagamore Yacht Club and at other local facilities. Furthermore, the Auxiliary is a volunteer unit of the official United States Coast Guard and has access to very interesting materials and official equipment that are often displayed in the classes. The classes range from basic seamanship that teach how to tie knots and operate a boat to courses for more advanced mariners such as how to use a GPS, read nautical charts, and understand the weather. Both organizations also will inspect your boat and help you become familiar with different equipment. If your boat passes inspection then you will receive a United States Coast Guard sticker that will identify to policing authorities that your boat meets official regulations. It should be noted that if you do not pass inspection you will not be in trouble because the inspection is not required. The inspection is a courtesy program with the United States Coast Guard to promote safe boating. Nevertheless, the knowledge learned in such classes and from an inspection, when applied to the waterways, can make the actual boating experience more fun, too. They help reinforce proper management of a boat and the rules of the waterway so that more people can comfortably enjoy the salty spray and sunshine.

Getting involved in Sagamore Yacht Club is another great way to learn hands on more about the proper way to operate a boat. Many sailboat captains will take out inexperienced crew on a Wednesday night race and may even give a few lessons or invite you to crew in larger weekend races with cool after parties. It can become tiresome trying to sail alone so many are often looking for crew to share the experience with. This is also how many people meet others who have power boats and are into fishing and other marine activities. Learning from people who already have experience with boating is one of the better ways to see if boating is for you. For more information about getting into boating, sailboat racing, or taking safe boating classes contact Dockmaster Phil Rhoads at (516) 922-0555, visit www.sagamoreyc.com, or look up SagamoreRacing on Yahoo!Groups.