everybody asks me: do you need a license to drive a boat in hawaii? the answer is: no. anybody could just go buy a $100,0000 boat, turn on the key, and drive it anywhere they wanted to in the ocean. when you think about it, it’s pretty crazy. BUT, things are changing. after thousands of boating accidents and deaths, the government is finally going to implement some new rules. starting november 2014, every person operating a boat will need to be licensed. you have to take a boating course and pass the exam. the course is about 7 hours long and you can either take it in a class, or online. if you pass, you’re legal, if you don’t, you can’t drive a boat. and if you get caught driving a boat without a license after november, you can get fined $1,000 and or spend 30 days in jail.
the law is going into effect to prevent accidents like this. a big boat in the water can kill people.
and if you don’t know what you’re doing, you can run your boat on the reef. this happens many times a year in hawaii and it destroys the reef forever.
so here it is, the hawaii boating state requirements. i know there will be many people that won’t get it. old timers don’t want to go back to school. it’s a hassle, it’s time consuming, and it’s a pain in the ass. i spent my 7 hours online this past week reading the materials and taking my time. then last night i stayed up late to take the 75 question exam. right in the middle of the exam, i lost internet connection!!! omg!!! i tried again, got to question 55, and lost connection again!!!! omg!!! then the third time i lost it again!!!! i spent 2.5 hours online getting frustrated and finally gave up. i will try again tonight and hopefully i will pass. good luck to you too!
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BoatUS Foundations Courses in Hawaii
May 30, 2014 Hawaii Surf Report
Love one another.
Good morning 5:30am.
South shore small.
Waist high with chest hight sets at Bowls, chest to shoulder high at Diamond Head. Trade winds at 20mph.
Super sunny and warm day.
Next South swell on Monday.
Surfing all day.
See you in the water!
Mentawai First Swell
good waves and weather again today! it as as blue as it gets here in hawaii. i was down at the beach from 7am to 1pm and i got even darker than i already was. it was hot, but so beautiful! tomorrow all day at the beach again. for tourists, they want sun. for me, i want clouds. my skin feels like it’s going to peel off! and if you try to look for me in the dark, forget it! haha.
wanted to say thank you to Sakamoto-san for the awesome surf session last week!
heard the big news about the first big mentawai swell. in hawaiian scale, i would call this 5′ and barreling! in california scale, this would be 15′ and awesome dude!
how beautiful are the waves in the mentawai? been there so many times and surfed waves even better than this. yeah, hard to believe, but it gets even bigger and hollower!
this recent photo really bummed me out. this is a spot called “4 Bob’s.” the most beautiful spot located between 2 white sandy beach islands. i surfed here many of times and loved the scenery as there was nothing around. but now, somebody built a floating deck right in the middle of the ocean. tourists must love it, but i personally don’t. for me, this is the beginning of the end in the mentawai’s. sad.
