Pardon me, I'm just lazy...

So I get a call from a gentleman from Ontario this afternoon. He begins by stating that he has been on the internet searching, but finds the boating regulations somewhat confusing. I will forgo my urge to suggest that if anyone finds the boating regulations "somewhat confusing", they should not be out on the water... period!!

Translate what this gentleman is saying into actual English and you'll get: "Hi... I'm pretty much a lazy sonovabitch, who knows absolutely nothing about boating and frankly, I don't care enough to actually learn anything. So i'm calling you so that you can spoon-feed me the regulatory information from the Canada Shipping Act, that it's my responsibility to know". Great...

So this lad starts off by suggesting that contrary to what some people have been saying about these "new regulations", he's "heard somewhere" that if people are under a certain age, that they don't require anything to go out and operate a pleasure craft. Then he states that he is 65 and as such, figures he doesn't need anything specific to operate a boat either... "Is this true?", he asks me. So painstakingly, with great patience, I proceed to walk him through the Regulations for the Competency of Pleasure Craft Operators spiel.

I tell him that these regulations are not "new", but have been gradually enforced since 1999. That's 10 years ago... I advise him that as of the 15 September 2009, every single person in this country, regardless of their date of birth, regardless of the size of their boat... if it's motorized, they require proof of competency onboard. Period. I then explain what "proof of competency" is and provide information on the fines applicable if an individual does not have it ($250.00).

I then explain licensing a pleasure craft, who requires it and the difference between a Pleasure Craft Operator Card (PCOC) and a Pleasure Craft License (PCL) and the fine applicable for not having your boat licensed ($100.00). The same fine applies for not having your paper copy of the license onboard, coincidentally...

It kills you to know that all the information is right there, it's just that people are too frikkin' lazy to look it up. Well... you deserve whatever you got comin'... :)