How easy is it for someone to rent a boat on the Gulf Coast?

CAPE CORAL, Fla. —

"I've had it numerous times, close calls on me. I go over everything with them, and I tell them to stay five Jet Skis away from me, and next thing you know, I have a guy not paying attention and coming in right behind me," said Matthew Loebs, owner of Elite Adventure Rentals and Matt's Beach Shack.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) patrols the waters to ensure safety. Bradley Johnson, public information officer for FWC, recommends taking a boater safety course online to rent a boat.

"You can get a 90-day temporary certificate. So that will cover you for that time of just that daily rental. So a lot of people, when they're renting vessels, will do that. But if you take that full boater safety course, that's good for a lifetime," Johnson said.

Loebs walked through the course options, explaining the difference in time commitment. "The difference is the time it takes to take it right. Like you can complete the temporary one, maybe like 20 minutes, 25 minutes. If you go the lifetime one, it's about an eight-hour process," he said.

Not everyone is required to take the class.

Johnson explained, "If you're born on Jan. 1, 1988, or later, then you are one of those people who are legally required to take that boater safety education course, or you need to have someone on board your vessel that's 18 years or older who has that boater safety education course."

Johnson noted that exceptions can lead to problems, stating, "Approximately 65% of our boating accidents that were fatal, were an operator that didn't have that formal boater safety education."

Loebs is committed to ensuring his customers' safety by accompanying them on rentals. "You'd have to have a hands-on portion, but simply doing a test, I don't think, suffices from the safety side," he said.

Loebs hopes for change to prevent future tragedies. "I hate to say it as a Floridian and coming from here, but it needs to happen. Even people who complain that they've operated a vessel for so long and this and that, if you have an operator and then you hop back out there, the waterways have changed," he said.

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