Affordable 3-hour on-water training courses at Freedom Boat Club Chicago
by Scott Croft 11 May 2019 07:04 PDT
1-2 June 2019
Learn boat-handling basics during three-hour on-water training courses at Freedom Boat Club Chicago © Scott Croft
Want to learn the basics of powerboating or brush up on your skills? The nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water together with Freedom Boat Club Chicago offer a choice of two fun on-water boat training courses taught aboard single-engine powerboats: Intro to Boating and Women Making Waves, Saturday, June 1 at the club's location at Montrose Harbor, 601 Montrose Drive, L Dock, Chicago, and Sunday June 2 at the club's Streeterville location at Ogden Slip, 465 North McClurg Court, Chicago.
Both the Intro to Boating and Women Making Waves courses are three hours long and affordably priced at $119 per person through May 18, then $149 thereafter. Intro to Boating covers shifting and steering, basic docking, open-water handling and basic navigation. On June 1 it will be offered at Montrose Harbor at 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. On June 2, it will be offered at the same times, but at the club's Ogden Slip location.
The ladies-only course, Women Making Waves, offers the same curriculum and is the perfect opportunity to spend half a day learning boat-handling techniques in a supportive environment. It's offered June 1 at Montrose Harbor at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and at the same times on June 2 but at Ogden Slip.
Class size is limited to four students per vessel, ensuring each student gets sufficient time at the helm under the watchful eye of a U.S. Coast Guard-certified instructor.
The goal of the BoatUS Foundation and Freedom Boat Club Chicago courses is to address the high costs typically associated with at-the-helm training, making hands-on boating education more accessible. The courses also offer area residents the chance to try out recreational boating and give boaters the opportunity to brush up on their boat-handling skills.
Space is limited. Must be 21 years or older. To sign up for a course or seek out others, go to BoatUS.org/On-Water.