This past week we held an event that helped women get behind the helm and learn more about the boating lifestyle called “Longshore Ladies in Boating!” Our mission for these small group seminars, for women only, is to build boating confidence by presenting information in a fun, active and supportive environment. Combining a classroom and a practical, on-the-water session help educate female boaters in a laid-back approach that builds self-assurance and reliance in order to captain their own vessel. As I’ve stated in some of our past blogs, I’ve personally been trying to learn more about boating techniques and safety so this outing seemed like the perfect opportunity and I’m glad I got to ride along.
We started out the evening by meeting at our dealership for a 30 minute introduction with the five attending women and Captain Thornton. We passed out gift bags, discussed each person’s level of boating experience, and the type of boat we had or drive regularly. Captain Thornton began by explaining the parts of a boat: bow, stern, hull, gunwale, cleat, propeller, red/green side lights, and port/starboard side. Then, we went over the rules of the waterways and right of ways: overtaking, meeting head-on, and crossing. After, we discussed how to read navigational markers: lighted buoys, cans, nuns, lights, signs, etc. He explained what the colors, lights, symbols, numbers and letters meant on the markers. Lastly, he told us what to do for close quarter and open water maneuvering, then finished up by talking about anchoring and how the tides and winds effect this.
Before boarding our Robalo R222 Explorer, Captain Thornton went over line handling, adding fenders and knot tying. Everyone got a chance to tie up the boat to the dock before we headed out. Once on the boat, we talked about the parts of the helm and how to turn on the boat and put it in drive, reverse, and neutral. He explained the tides and winds so we could know whether to leave the dock in forward or reverse. “Going against the current is always best when leaving a dock instead of going downstream. This helps you avoid hitting the boat docked near you,” he stated. Our first Longshore lady took us away from the dock with ease and drove us through the shallows so we could get out into the channel. We stopped to switch drivers and learn more about navigational markers and how to maneuver around the correct lighted buoys. When we switched to our third driver, we had reached other boating traffic. We were taught how to go around them in a safe and respectable manner. Our fourth lady driver cranked up the speed, which we learned how to adjust and also how to read a GPS. The water started to get choppy so our fifth and final lady took us back to the dock. The ladies who wanted to try their hand at docking and tying off the fenders and lines, did so then we opened some wine and Captain Thornton answered any other questions we had.
The evening outing went very well and we had a lot of fun! It can be stressful when you’re out on the water with other people while trying to learn how to properly handle a boat, but Captain Thornton was very patient and explained everything with such ease. Longshore Boats is looking forward to hosting future women in boating events to make sure other ladies feel comfortable behind the wheel and we hope you get to join us. Stay connected with us about future events by subscribing to our newsletter and following us on our social media pages! See you ladies on the water!
