Saturday, September 01, 2007
Take Your Kids to Lunch posted by Chris Manthos
The secret covers are being pulled off the ’08 models, and as we profiled in our Sept/Oct issue of Ride, PWC just keep getting better. Larger, safer, more efficient and exciting watercraft will soon be gracing the water. Each new model is an investment in the future of the PWC Nation. The manufacturers are more than doing their part with incredible new boats, but what are we as riders doing to further our enthusiasm for personal watercraft?
Few things are as important to the long term growth of our community than getting your kids involved with PWC. Most states require riders to be 16 or older to operate a personal watercraft. Okay, but that doesn’t mean they can’t ride with you now. To be honest, most of us prefer to ride alone on the boat. While understandable, it’s important to bring those future PWC riders with you.
By age 14, most kids have their interests pretty much pegged. Any parent knows that, either for better or for worse. Most kids will follow into what their parents are into … again, for better or worse. Of the countless activities offered up to kids in this modern world, few match a family PWC outing. I’m not talking about taking them out for a few quick zips around the cove, rather, how about taking them to a destination: Take your kids to lunch! Use the unique opportunity PWC offer to show them nature’s wonders and how important it is to be close to the water and the environment.
It’s also a key opportunity to teach good boating from bad boating.
In Houston, our affiliated AWA Club, the Bay Area PWC Association, helps run a boating safety camp for kids called Camp Wade. During this Camp, future boaters are introduced to safety on the water by using canoes, small sailboats, motorboats and personal watercraft. These young teens often report they enjoy (you guessed it) the PWC portion of the camp most. AWA members support Camp Wade by paying for the insurance to teach these future boaters the responsibility and raw enjoyment PWC offer. If you have kids, seize the opportunity to turn every ride into a mini, one on one, Camp Wade.
A great place to start is pwcsafetyschool.com. It involves being online, which your kids will square you away on, and it’s a solid refresher course for you, too. There’s a country song where a 4-year-old utters a four-letter word. Dad asks “now where did you learn to speak like that?” The son’s reply is simply, “I’ve been watching you, Dad.”
You’ve seen my friends Sally and her dad Mike before in the pages of Ride. They spend quality time together on their boats, including offshore riding, and they always run in the AWA D.C. Freedom Ride. The whole family recently surprised Mike with a brand-new Kawasaki 250X. Now, Mike is looking to upgrade Sally’s boat, as well. Sally recently wrote an outstanding research paper on PWC access discrimination. I’m pretty sure Sally will always be a strong advocate for personal watercraft.
My friends Whitney and her dad Gregg are also longtime AWA members who have been riding together for years. Even though they do their own thing, they still get together and ride the Sea-Doos. All of these folks will tell you personal watercraft are a positive factor in their family relationships.
Personal watercraft are a tremendous source of enjoyment, stress relief, excitement, combined with the ability to get away from it all. Let’s add our kids to the equation. Passing on your passion for watercraft ensures a strong future for all of us in the PWC Nation.
Live Free. Think Free. Ride Free.
