Dad encourages daughter’s knowledge and confidence with boating safety course

Opportunities for water sports are year-round in Florida, but as school days turn into summer days, more young people will be taking advantage of their time off to play in the lakes and rivers around the state, not to mention the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.

Scott Olschewske, owner of Keystone Construction and Development, Inc. and past president of the Marion County Building Industry Association, is father to 14-year-old Kiptyn Olschewske, and while he loves to share water sports with her, he also feels strongly about safety. So as Kiptyn was finishing her 8^th grade year of school at St. John Lutheran School, she was also starting an online safe boating class offered by BoatUS Foundation.

“She’s of the age she’s starting to boat on other people’s boats, and being a freshman in high school next year, she’ll be out with friends more and needs to know what to do,” Scott Olschewske said, noting that whether Kiptyn is on jet skis, preparing to handle the boat or offshore fishing, he wants her to have fun. “And when she trailers or ties the boat, more of those kinds of things, I want her to feel confident.”

Kiptyn has been boating, canoeing and kayaking with her father since she was very young, and they enjoy being together on several lakes and rivers in the area. She spends time between her father and mother, Amber Eicoff, who also recently purchased a boat. Kiptyn looks forward to boating with her, particularly in Crystal River. Kiptyn noted that she has a lot of friends whose families have boats or watercraft like jet skis, and she has a great time just hanging out with them and playing in the water.

Scott and Kiptyn started discussing a boat safety class last summer, but he had waited to research it because he thought there was a minimum age of 14 to take the class, and Kiptyn would be 14 this summer.

“Then when I did research it, I found out anyone can drive as long as someone who passed the class is with them,” he said, noting that those who are born before 1988 are exempt from a course requirement.

Kiptyn agreed boat safety is important and has found the course to be fun. She alternated working on her boating safety course with her end-of-year exams. Now that she has more time for the course, she anticipates finishing it soon.

According to the information at BoatUS Foundation, the expected completion time is between four to eight hours, with six lessons and a final exam that includes 60 questions from the material.

Although Kiptyn already knew a lot about boating from having participated in water sports throughout her life, she said she was gaining a lot from the course.

“I’ve learned a lot of new things I didn’t know, like using a float device and navigating lights,” she said, “and how to go on the water.”

Scott has also been impressed with the class, which is the only free online boating safety course he found that was listed as approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

“It’s not only power boating, but there are sections about rules of the water, sharing space with paddle boarders and who’s got the right of way, using hand signals,” he said, adding, “It’s pretty broad.”

Kiptyn recommends the course for other teens and offers some advice: “There’s reading and it’s important to read it all and answer the questions,” she said, pointing out that the videos shown during the course are helpful for things like how to take care of sewage, how to dock and to tie knots properly. “It helps with the visuals for some things,” she said.

Kiptyn has future plans to possibly study nursing and work in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU, but she also may go into a field that relates to her love of the water and of which the boat safety course would be a good foundation—marine biology.

“I haven’t decided yet,” she said, “but I like both.”

All boaters in Florida born in 1988 or later must have a valid Boater Safety Education ID card. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission website reports that in 2023, 73,120 boater safety ID cards were issued in the state, with 11,038 given to young people ages 0-16. An additional 12,110 were issued to young adults ages 17-21.

Boating safety tips and a list of approved boating courses are available on the FWC website at myfwc.com, including the free online course Kiptyn is taking.