One of the primary missions of the Coast Guard Auxiliary is Recreational Boating Safety (RBS), and one of the ways it goes about promoting it is by informing the public about the essentials of safe boating through educational outreach and inspections programs. These are conducted by Auxiliarists who have earned appropriate certifications as Vessel Examiners or Program Visitors, both of which are recognized through the wear of the Examiner Program Ribbon.
Although the two programs are closely aligned in their missions, they employ different methods to help the public enjoy the varied pleasures of recreational boating while taking care to follow proper safety procedures. Boat owners can request a Vessel Examiner conduct a free Vessel Safety Checks (VSCs) to ensure their vessels are in full compliance with both State and Federal boating laws. These checks usually take between half-an-hour to forty-five minutes, and can be performed almost anywhere, from the owner’s driveway to the slip from which it will be launched.
Program Visitors, on the other hand, interact with locale businesses, especially marine dealerships and other stores that sell boats or boating equipment, to promote safe boating. As members of the Recreational Boating Safety Visitation Program (RBSVP), Program Visitors are familiarly acquainted with the boating safety requirements and regulations from the local level all the way to the Federal. Their job is to identify locations where members of the boating public (and there are roughly 80 million in the United States) are likely to visit and place free information material explaining not only the rules and regulations, but why they’re important and how to go about complying with them. Examples of places where Program Visitors might place literature include marine dealers, marinas, boat rental facilities, hardware stores, and even in doctor’s office or hospital waiting rooms.
Any Auxiliarist can qualify as a Vessel Examiner or Program Visitor by completing the attendant certification and training regimens. In either case, candidates must be at least Basically Qualified or in Applicant Pending Status and have passed a basic boating safety course before they can begin pursuing the certification. Vessel Examiners must perform at least five VSCs a year to maintain certification, while Program Visitors are required to make at least four RBSVP visits in a calendar year to avoid the re-certification process.