The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Here is the pleasure craft operator card's Question of the Week: Who must carry proof of competency? - Anyone born after April 1, 1983; - Operators of powered pleasure craft under four meters (13 feet) in length. By September 15, 2009, all powered pleasure craft operators will have to carry proof of competency. No exceptions. A pleasure craft is any type of watercraft that is used exclusively for pleasure and does not carry passengers or goods for hire, reward, remuneration, or any object of profit. As soon as remuneration is provided for a service provided by a vessel, that vessel becomes a commercial vessel. Pleasure crafts come in all shapes and sizes (canoes, kayaks, PWCs, sail boats, ski boats, cabin cruisers, etc.) PWCs include Seadoos and jet skis. PWCs are powerful high-performance machines that, when introduced to the market, caused a dramatic increase in damages, injuries, and deaths. The establishment of tougher boating regulations in Canada was prompted in large part by this disproportionately high number of damages, injuries, and deaths related to use of PWCs. You must be a minimum of 16 years of age to operate a PWC and, regardless of age, if it is under four meters (13 feet) you are required to carry a pleasure craft operator card when operating it. For more information on boating safety visit freecourse.ca Courses, testing and safe boating information are available at the Flin Flon Canadian Tire Store. Contact Brian Humphreys at 687-8490 for further details.
