The parents of Austin Stephanos, one of the two Tequesta teens lost at sea last July, are sponsoring safe boating classes for youngsters in north county.
“I don’t want any other parents to go through what we went through,” said Blu Stephanos, the father of Austin Stephanos. Austin and his friend, both 14, never returned after leaving Jupiter Inlet on July 24 in their 19-foot SeaCraft boat.
The classes, which will be taught by the U.S. Coast Guard, are scheduled to be offered beginning March 12 one Saturday a month at the Loxahatchee River Center in Jupiter.
The day-long classroom instruction ends with a test. Those who pass the test get a Florida Fish and Wildlife Safe Boating Card, which every boater born after Jan. 1, 1988 is required to have, said U.S. Coast Guard Flotilla 52 Commander Gregory Barth.
“It’s a soup-to-nuts class. We go over navigation, how to leave and enter a dock, anchoring, life preservers and the legal aspects of boating,” Barth said. The class, which is scheduled from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., normally would cost $35. The fees are being paid by the AustinBlu Foundation, said Stephanos.
“Austin would be proud of this. He would want us to protect other kids,” said Carly Black, Austin’s mother.
For information or to register online for the class, go to tiny.cc/boatsafe or call 561-743-7123.
Read the full Palm Beach Post article here: Tequesta teen foundation to pay for safe-boating classes for youngsters in Jupiter
