Due Diligence

I have no clue what I'm doing next Spring by purchasing a second hand motor boat and launching it into Lake Ontario. I have no experience operating even a small outboard fishing boat.

Lake Ontario is a Great Lake, not a small cottage lake with no police, no commercial traffic, few navigational hazards. Lake Ontario is busy, can produce rough seas and has plenty of navigation issues.                 Incredibly nearly 25% of Canada's population live within a few miles of the lake. More than 9 million people.

In order to prepare for this new, expensive hobby, I have been enrolling in nautical themed classes. Last night I took a written and practical test to obtain my VHF radio licence. That is the second of 3 licences I require to operate a boat in Toronto Harbour. I still need the Toronto Harbour licence, which includes a "road test" on basic boating skills. I'll take that test next Spring, when I actually acquire some basic boating skills.

I also enrolled in a engine and boat maintenance course for this winter. I liked the tag line in the course brochure, we may not teach you a lot, but you will probably learn something you didn't know before you took the course.

When I do launch in the Spring, at least I will have given myself a fighting chance.

I did spend 4-years in the Navy. Like most things you learn in the military, there is little practical training that is transferable to the civilian world. One would think there would be some skills, I picked up, that I could use in the boating world. I certainly know some of the terminology including my favourite, Head, for the toilet, a term which I use every day. I also know my port from my starboard. It did help on my radio exam, as I know the phonetic alphabet and did, over 30 years ago, operate a radio in the Navy. I'm used to sailing in rough waters. Extreme rough seas that you will never see in lake Ontario. I still have my sea legs.

It doesn't help that I am a slow learner. I am slow to pick up practical skills. Listen, I think I'm smarter than a lot of people I see on the street, it just takes me longer to absorb the info. At some point I catch up and pass a few people. At the radio course, I was the only person, in a class of 5, to write the exam at the end of day 2 of the course. The rest were too nervous and wanted more time to study. I studied in between class days and picked up the information. I have taken basic knots courses in Basic Training twice, once in the reserve and then regular forces. I took them again in basic boat skills course. To this day I have trouble with the knots on my shoes. I have an iPad app for knots. Seriously you should check it out. I just can't figure out knots. You have to master basic knots to operate a boat. I have the Fall & Winter to figure it out.