Freedom Boat Club – Lighthouse Point – Lighthouse Point Marina

Florida law requires you to be at least 18 to rent a livery vessel other than a human-powered vessel. Florida sets no general minimum age to operate a boat, but a personal watercraft operator must be at least 14.

Under section 327.395, anyone born on or after January 1, 1988, operating a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more must carry the required boating safety credentials. An exemption applies when accompanied by a credentialed or exempt person age 18 or older who is attendant to the operation and responsible for safe operation and violations. The rental operator sets its own booking minimum subject to state law, so confirm it when booking.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (myfwc.com)

Florida does not issue a boating license, but operators born on or after January 1, 1988, must carry photo ID and a Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boating education card when running a vessel with a motor of 10 horsepower or more. This includes personal watercraft. There is no general minimum age for boats; personal watercraft operators must be at least 14, and no one under 18 may rent any vessel other than a human powered one. Exemptions include Coast Guard licensed masters, private lake or pond operators, operators accompanied aboard by someone 18 or older who holds the card or is exempt and is responsible for the vessel, and nonresidents with proof of a NASBLA-approved out of state course. Any non exempt operator may instead pass an FWC approved temporary certificate exam and carry that certificate with photo ID for 90 days.

Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (myfwc.com)

From Lighthouse Point, the main choices are the city canals, the Intracoastal Waterway, Hillsboro Inlet and the Atlantic Ocean. The local canal network is man-made and bulkheaded, making it the enclosed neighborhood-water option; it connects to the Intracoastal at several points. The Intracoastal runs the city’s full length and provides the main through route. Hillsboro Inlet is the passage between the Intracoastal and the Atlantic, where boating shifts to open ocean water. If you are trailering, Alsdorf Park provides boat launching directly on the Intracoastal at NE 14th Street Causeway.

Source: City of Lighthouse Point (lighthousepointfl.gov)

From Lighthouse Point, boaters head to Lake Sylvia to float beside their boats or pull tubes; downtown Fort Lauderdale’s New River and Las Olas Boulevard for high-rise views and waterside dining; Whiskey Creek for sandy-bottom beaching, picnics and beach access; and Pompano Beach’s Shipwreck Park for wreck diving and underwater art. The New River passes through downtown and along Riverwalk, while Whiskey Creek runs through Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park.

Source: Visit Lauderdale (visitlauderdale.com)