wrote in message
ps.com...

Roger Long wrote:
...
As a just (self) grounded private pilot, it does seem strange
to go
out and do something that involves just as much responsibility
and
requires just as much skill (at least to do safely) with out
all the
training and oversight involved in flying aircraft. Boat
licensing is
probably overdue but I still hate to see it coming up over the
horizon.

Your premise is wrong. Boating is far easier to do safely than
flying.

Exactly. Consider the docking manouevre; off centre at 3kts is
very different from being off centre at 100kts. Consider the
effects of bad weather against fuel planning; running out of fuel
because you couldn't get into a port is not a consideration of a
boat. Consider incapacitated crew . . . and so on.

Back to Roger's point. European practice on licencing is
interesting.

Great Britain probably has the most challenging sailing conditions
in Europe, and has no governmental requirement for licencing or
insuring leisure sailors. Nor do vessels used solely for leisure
have to be registered. Some marinas insist on vessels having third
party insurance, and some charterers want to see competence
certificates. These are commercial arrangements only.

Over the rest of Europe and in the Mediterranean, certificates of
competence *and* third party insurance are governmental
requirements for anyone in charge of any vessel, with some
exceptions in some countries for small dinghies. These countries
have better weather factors, weaker tides (if any), fewer people
on the water, in fact, fewer reasons overall for needing licencing
(with the exception of controlling traffic on some inland
waterways, which are pretty crowded). However, most of these
countries had a bureaucratic infrastructure designed to handle
commercial traffic, and automatically applied commercial controls
to leisure sailing, which was a trivial activity immediately post
war (unlike Britain).

Of course, once bureaucrats have a task, they're reluctant to face
redundancy, preferring instead to argue the need for increased
control . . .

My views?

The most serious and frequent leisure accidents arise from small
high speed vessels. I don't mind if people wish to risk injuring
themselves, but third parties need to be protected. Governmental
intervention is not effective unless it is policed, and licencing
does not prevent road accidents. I'd like to go the insurance
route.

Any vessel with an energy content equivalent to 10kts on 16ft
should be third party insured. Probably best implemented by saying
'anything that can do more than 10kts, or is longer than 16' is to
carry third party insurance.' That may require boat registration
if the insurance is attached to the vessel, and if the insurance
is attached to the driver, insurance companies would probably
discount insurance to those with suitable certificates.

Policing? Random checks at launching points. Impound vessels not
covered by insurance.

Got that off my chest, I feel better now.

--
JimB
http://www.jimbaerselman.f2s.com/
for opinions comparing Greek cruising areas