Final review, and how to book your test

Joanne is sixty-two. For years her husband drove the boat and she handled the lines. This summer she wants to take it out on her own, and she knows that means her own card, because every operator needs their own proof. She's watched this whole course. Now she wants to know what to review, and how to actually book the test.

So here's the question. What's on the test, and how does Joanne get from here to a card on board?

The Competency of Operators of Pleasure Craft Regulations set out four areas an accredited course has to cover, and this course was built on them. Boating terms, like port, starboard and underway. Operator responsibilities, meaning your proof, your equipment, your charts and your paperwork. Safety procedures and emergencies. And general boating safety knowledge, from weather to fuelling to cold water.

Now the big rules, each in a breath. Carry your actual card on board, not a copy. One lifejacket of the right size for each person, and wear it. Power gives way to sail, to a boat engaged in fishing, to one restricted in her ability to manoeuvre, and to one not under command. Going upstream, red buoys stay on your right.

In Ontario, ten kilometres an hour within thirty metres of shore, posted or not. Impaired boating is a Criminal Code offence, the same law as driving. In an emergency, calm, lifejackets, assess, bail, then call on channel sixteen. And if you cannot see a ship's wheelhouse, you cannot be seen.

Now booking. Only a Transport Canada accredited course provider can test you and issue the card. Transport Canada keeps the list on its website, along with a Course Provider Lookup tool. Some providers teach online, some in a classroom, and some let you study free and pay only when you pass. The government charges nothing for the card. Providers set the fees.

You have two routes. Take a provider's course and write its test at the end. Or skip the course and challenge the test, which Transport Canada says you must write in person, supervised by an accredited provider. Either way it's multiple choice, and you need seventy-five percent to pass. Your provider sets the time limit and explains how its test works.

On the water. Honestly, the card is the easy part. The test asks what the rules are. The river asks whether you'll use them on a busy Saturday, tired, with guests aboard and the sky turning. That's why we spent so long on why each rule exists.

Let's change one fact. Joanne misses by a couple of points. That's fine. Transport Canada says you can write the test as often as you need, but only once in any twenty-four hours. She reviews the lectures on her weak area, and tries again.

The mistake boaters make is treating the card as the finish line. It never checks whether you still wear your lifejacket or keep the radio on. That part is up to you, every time you leave the dock.

Here's the rule, in one breath. Pick any accredited provider from Transport Canada's list, pass with seventy-five percent, carry the real card aboard, and keep boating like the rules matter.

This week, book your test. Search for Transport Canada's list of accredited course providers, pick one that suits you, and set a date. And remember, this course is a free study aid. It isn't accredited, and it doesn't test you or issue the card. Only a provider does.

Your card is good for life, so look after it. Photograph it, then keep the real one aboard in a waterproof pouch. Thank you for spending this time with me. I'll see you out on the water, and when I do, I hope you've got your lifejacket on. Wear it, don't just carry it.