Guy Hoppen said he knows firsthand the importance of safety education at sea. As president and founding director of the Gig Harbor BoatShop, he’ll have the chance to offer two classes in the next few weeks to confront issues of marine safety.

The BoatShop will host the classes this month through a partnership with Washington Sea Grant, a service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the University of Washington.
The first, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Jan. 23, will be a Coast Guard-approved course in sea survival and emergency procedures. The other, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Jan. 30, will deal with first-aid treatment at sea.

Hoppen, who makes his living as a commercial fisherman, worked at a large fishery in the icy straits of Alaska’s Lynn Canal earlier this year, where two fisherman on other boats died from exposure after overboard accidents.

“It’s very critical,” he said of safety training designed to prevent and mitigate those kinds of accidents. “We all forget that you can’t last long in 50-degree water. It’s good to be as up to speed as possible.”

The BoatShop will provide facility space and other assistance to Washington Sea Grant, which is part of a network of similar organizations in coastal and Great Lakes states that receives federal money from NOAA to fund marine research and put on outreach and education programs. It has offered classes in safety and vessel technology since it was founded in 1968.

It’s a partnership that works in the interest, and toward the organizational mission, of both the BoatShop and Sea Grant, Hoppen said.

“We want to be the go-to place (for classes like these),” he said. “We want to build the BoatShop up. We’re still a young non-profit, and I think the more we can offer, the merrier.”

“We’re always looking for venues like this,” Sea Grant spokesman Dan Williams said.

Williams cooperation with other organizations to provide facilities is crucial to the outreach programs.

He and Hoppen both addressed the difficulty some fishermen confront in taking safety classes, which often are mandated by the Coast Guard for commercial approval. Many fishermen based in more remote parts of the state have to travel long distances, often to Seattle, to complete their training.

“We know there’s a substantial boating community there,” Williams said of the Gig Harbor region. “And these classes really help us get the message out to people who need it.”

The survival training class is free for active commercial fishermen, while the first-aid class will be offered at a reduced rate. Both classes will confront issues such as hypothermia, coldwater safety and crisis situations on board commercial vessels.

“These aren’t just for fishermen,” Hoppen said. “They are also very good things for anyone to take.”

The BoatShop requires the captains of its renovated Thunderbird sailboats to take marine first-aid courses, and Hoppen said he will most likely sit in on the classes, too.

Hoppen also hopes to continue to partner with Washington Sea Grant to offer more programs. He said the BoatShop hosted a well-attended diesel engine training class in December, and he hopes to schedule a class on metal corrosion in the future.

Pre-registration is required. For more information or to sign up, call Sarah Fiskin, Sea Grant’s continuing education coordinator, at 206-543-1225.

Correction: The print version of this article inaccurately characterized the two overboard deaths as members of Hoppen's own crew.