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mail in the course for scoring, and some insurance companies offer discounts for those who can show proof of completion. Boating safety classes at local aquatic centers also provide hands-on training on how to handle motorboats, sailboats, personal watercraft, and paddle craft (rafts, canoes, kayaks, etc.). Cal Boating also has a safety team that visits marinas and water bodies each weekend during boating season (from Memorial Day through Labor Day), promoting the ABCs of California boating law and distributing free life jackets, home study courses, and a

number of giveaways with educational and safety messages. Every summer, Cal Boating’s safety team launches its own boat, which functions as a floating billboard to encourage people to boat responsibly. The challenge is to craft a warning message without frightening people. Staffers sometimes use humor to disarm their audience, but the bottom line is that the department wants California’s boaters to be safe and come back to enjoy another day. Additional department programs include the AquaSMART curriculum series for grades K-12, Safe & Wise Water Ways poster contest, Tri-State Boating Safety Fair, Wear It California life jacket campaign, life jacket loaner and trade-in events, Spanish outreach, the boating safety puppet show that travels to schools statewide and the boat show outreach program. The department has been advocating boating safety and education since 1957. With many positive results and awards, Cal Boating has provided national leadership for innovative safety and education programs.

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50 Years: The Department of Boating and Waterways, 1957 to 2007