The About Boating Safety Course, a public safe boating class leading to a boater education card, will be taught in two sessions from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 30 and Nov. 6 in the second floor conference room at Englund Marine & Industrial Supply, 95 Hamburg Ave. The cost for the course is $30, which includes the course manual.

The course will cover safe boating operations, boating terms, required equipment, rules of the road, aids to navigation and survival techniques in cold water. A session called “Local Knowledge” will cover the avoidable hazards of boating on the Lower Columbia and the Columbia River bar.

Mandatory boater education is now law. All Oregon boaters need a boater education card to operate or supervise youth operating a boat with greater than 10 horsepower. Youth ages 12 to 15 operating a boat up to 10 horsepower and all personal watercraft operators need a card.

The boater education card will save money on boat insurance. Boaters can be cited and fined $142 for operating watercraft without the card.

The state of Washington will issue a card to Washington residents completing the course. Their law states that all boat operators age 30 and younger must have a card beginning in 2010.

The National Association of State Boating Law Administrators approves this course, which will be taught by experienced boaters and qualified instructors from the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Buoy 10 Flotilla 64.

For information, or to preregister, contact Matthew Carter at (503) 481-6648 or register on the day of the class.