Behind The Buoy

Boat/US Magazine, Nov, 2000 by Richard Schwartz

Between us, my wife and I have 14 grandchildren, which makes for very large -- and sometimes loud -- holiday dinners. I wouldn't have it any other way. Having a lot of kids around always brings out the kid in me. I've had a great time teaching them about the whys and wherefores of boating, but I bet I've learned just as much from them.

Kids live for the moment, somehow flourishing without a five-year plan to run their lives. They are spontaneous, imaginative and creative -- able, with the addition of a couple of plastic airplanes and some folded paper hats, to turn a small dinghy into a U.S. aircraft carrier.

Fortunately for us older folks, kids still require some adult direction and guidance (as anyone who has had to settle an argument between two 4-year-olds can attest.) And one of the best ways we boaters can guide our children and grandchildren into boating is to take part in it with them.

Repeated research has shown that the people most likely to get into boating as adults are those who learned how as kids. Yet according to the National Recreational Boating Survey covered on page 28 in this issue, just 7% of boaters are under 30. When you consider that, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 42% of the population are under 30, that's a very small number indeed.

At BoatU.S., we're well aware of these demographics, and we're working hard to get more youngsters interested in boating. Starting with the basics, the BoatU.S. Foundation several years ago began a life jacket loaner program to let boaters who didn't ordinarily have children on board borrow life jackets when kids were coming to visit. Today that program is operating in 41 out of 50 states, lending more than 8,000 life jackets a year.

Each year our BoatU.S. Foundation's Grassroots Grants program funds several local projects directed specifically towards kids and boating. For example, this year in Texas and New York, kids "caught" on the water wearing life jackets are rewarded with a special tee-shirt and, in Iowa, kids trade boating "baseball cards," replete with photos of the local marine police and boating safety tips on the back.

We're looking at the teenage boater, too. One of the more popular stories that has appeared recently in BOAT/US. Magazine was Ryck Lydecker's article about the Sea Scouts in the July 1999 issue. We received hundreds of letters from members who wanted to get involved, and so did the Sea Scouts. As a result, BoatU.S. has entered into a partnership with them, designed to increase the number of kids who join Sea Scouts and encourage them to become the skilled boaters of tomorrow.

With the Scouts, we're developing a BoatU.S. Marine Center apprentice program, ways to provide reasonably priced marine insurance to those Sea Scout "ships" who own their own boats, and getting more of our members involved in Sea Scouts at the local level. It's a natural fit.

And closer to home, we have just launched Next Wave, a boating club for kids (see page 33). Even though there are literally hundreds of magazines and Web sites dedicated to boaters, none exist for kids. With its own Web site and a bimonthly magazine, both chock-full of innovative ways to have fun on the water, we expect the Next Wave to fill a big gap.

Whether the kids on your holiday gift list are already avid boaters, just love fishing from the dock, or confine their boating to the bathtub, we think membership in Next Wave will be one of those rare kid's presents whose value endures season after season.

As we begin the 21st century, we're blessed to be going through one of the strongest and longest-lasting economic booms in our history. But these booms come at a cost, and one of them is time, especially family time.

To borrow a theme from a new advertising campaign, "Water Works Wonders," all boaters share the delight in getting aboard, throwing off the lines, and finding renewal on the water. No matter what our age, we can all learn from our kids and grandchildren to live for the moment, and there's no better place to do that than out on a boat.