b'On-the-Water Youth Boater Education Of-fered on Padre IslandSix-hour class teaches kids aged 10+ boating rules and piloting skills.Unbeknownst to many of us old-timers, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) requires a boater safety education class for anyone born after Septem-ber 1, 1993, to operate any vessel with 15-hp or more power, a sailboat of over 14 feet, or a personal wa-tercraft like a Jet Ski or Waverunner. Baywatch Tours Corpus Christi, which operates tour and fishing boats atMarker37MarinaonNorthPadreIsland,near Snoopys Pier south of the JFK Bridge, is conducting professionally-certi-fied, boater training campsforchildren aged10-and-up,as wellasforadults. Theon-the-water sessionsteachkids theboatersrules of the road that in-clude instruction for captainsandcrew. Captain David Ram-charam recently re-tired from a universi-ty career and started Baywatch Tours with his wife, Farah. We want to make sure kids have ex-perience on the boat, he said. In addition to cover-ing the regulations and everything required by Texas Parks and Wildlife, we want to get them on the boat, make sure they understand the safety on the boat, take them out, have them actually navigate with the boat. The youth camp runs six hours divided into two sessions, aboard the Baywatch fleet of pontoon boats. 13313 SPID Marker 37 Marina(361) 222-8687132THECOASTALBENDMAGAZINE TheCoastalBend.com'