Affordable 3-Hour On-Water Training Courses, June 1 & 2

Want to learn the basics of powerboating or brush up on your skills? The nonprofit BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water together with Freedom Boat Club Chicago offer a choice of two fun on-water boat training courses taught aboard single-engine powerboats: Intro to Boating and Women Making Waves, Saturday, June 1 at the club’s location at Montrose Harbor, 601 Montrose Drive, L Dock, Chicago, and Sunday June 2 at the club’s Streeterville location at Ogden Slip, 465 North McClurg Court, Chicago.

Both the Intro to Boating and Women Making Waves courses are three hours long and affordably priced at $119 per person through May 18, then $149 thereafter. Intro to Boating covers shifting and steering, basic docking, open-water handling and basic navigation. On June 1 it will be offered at Montrose Harbor at 9:30 a.m., 10 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m., 2 p.m., and 2:30 p.m. On June 2, it will be offered at the same times, but at the club’s Ogden Slip location.

The ladies-only course, Women Making Waves, offers the same curriculum and is the perfect opportunity to spend half a day learning boat-handling techniques in a supportive environment. It’s offered June 1 at Montrose Harbor at 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., and at the same times on June 2 but at Ogden Slip.

Class size is limited to four students per vessel, ensuring each student gets sufficient time at the helm under the watchful eye of a U.S. Coast Guard-certified instructor.

The goal of the BoatUS Foundation and Freedom Boat Club Chicago courses is to address the high costs typically associated with at-the-helm training, making hands-on boating education more accessible. The courses also offer area residents the chance to try out recreational boating and give boaters the opportunity to brush up on their boat-handling skills.

Space is limited. Must be 21 years or older. To sign up for a course or seek out others, go to BoatUS.org/On-Water.