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The West Vancouver Yacht Club offers the Safe Boating course as part of our community school program. As our coastal waters are becoming increasingly crowded with recreational boaters, it becomes more evident to North Shore residents that boating safety is a subject that must be addressed at a young age.  "Drowning is the second leading cause of death for children between the ages of 5 - 14 years, only exceeded by auto accidents". The majority of these deaths occur while enjoying Canada's largest recreational activity. boating. We believe that proper training can help prevent these types of accidents.

We offer two safe boating programs suitable for elementary and high school aged students.

1) A general Safe Boating talk geared toward elementary ages. 

Topics covered include:

This program can be arranged for a single class, a small group of classes (in a small assembly), or every class in the school (individual classes, or small groupings).  The talks can be between 30 and 90 minutes depending on the age group and desires of the school. 

This program is free to all schools.

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2) Pleasure Craft Operator's Card Program (Spark Start):

As of September 15, 2002, the new boating regulations state "Any persons operating a powerboat under 4 meters (13.2 feet) must have an Operator's Card (this includes personal water craft). Also, anyone born after April 1, 1983 must have proof of competency." The fact that youth are primarily being targeted only gives us more reason to educate them.

This program is:

Cost of this program: $30.00 per student.

Both of these programs will be available at your school between January and June.

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For more information, please contact the Sailing Director.