joys of boating on our own, we created a course specifically for women to
overcome their fear and not only
become boaters…but to become proficient captains.
“Women Behind the Wheel on the
Water” is a program that was
designed to change fear into passion.
It is rooted in the understanding that
men and women are not the same.
They are “hard-wired” differently.
They feel and learn things in different ways. It was created on a platform of female experience.
Traditionally women have been
taught to drive cars and boats by a
husband or father, which is quite
often a very stressful and aggravating
embark on the water?
I don’t know about you, but
I am of the mind set that an
emergency is not the most
ideal time to learn and master
a skill. I don’t think that the
Canadian Women’s Hockey
Team won a Gold medal at the
Olympics by jumping on skates for the
first time, so why should driving your
boat be any different. You can’t
become skilled at something without
practice.
With this need for practice and
education in mind, experience at my
back and the passion to have all
women experience the empowering
experience for both. Women Behind
the Wheel on the Water aims to provide a comfortable, non-threatening
and stress-free environment in which
women can learn, from women
instructors, the boating skills they
need in a manner designed specifically for them.
The course takes into consideration
the fears that women face and it aims
to embrace them. This one-of-a-kind
course consists of a full day of nautical
learning in an intimate group. The core
of this course is based around three
main lessons: boating safety, boat
hauling and captaining. The course is
offered exclusively to women and
taught by women to allow the participants the best possible outcome.
The morning is devoted to an in-class session on boating proficiency
and safe boating practices and incorporates the boating license exam,
Pleasure Craft Operator Card. After a
buffet lunch, we get into hands-on
learning. By the time a participant
leaves, she will have experienced
captaining, as well as the opportunity to acquire the licence that allows
her to do it. Also, the participants get
to actually trailer a boat, learning the
skills needed to tow on the highway
and back up in a driveway or down
a ramp.
We recognize that many of our
female boaters may already have their
boater licences. To accommodate
these women we offer the same hands
on captaining and trailering in a half-day format or, they can chose to work
one-on-one with one of our female
captains, for more intensive learning.
This is a custom fit course for the
“inner boater” in all women, allowing
anyone to break out and take control
of her own boat on the water. It is the
goal of the Women Behind the Wheel
on the Water program that every participant graduate feels comfortable and
safe behind the wheel of a boat and
In this case, author and instructor
Carly Poole delivers basic orientation
and familiarization in the comfort of the
Buckeye Marine showroom before
hitting the water.
