Photos: Supplied.
BY HARVEY SHORE
Allstate Boat Licensing and Training recently held its annual conference at the Coast Guard base in Manly, drawing dozens of trainers and instructors from all over Queensland, plus officers from Maritime Safety Queensland and Brisbane Water Police.
Darryl Greentree, founder of Allstate, called it, “The best conference in our 23-year history – demonstrating our trainers’ desire to be the best in the business”.
Allstate was founded in 1999, with classes originally held at the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. It was granted the registration ‘Boatsafe Number 001’ by Maritime Safety Queensland.
From its first office in Manly, Allstate has spread throughout Queensland. It now has 18 offices up and down the coast, and issues 10,000 boat and PWC (jet-ski) licenses annually.
“We provide training and assessing for Recreational Marine Drivers (RMD) and Personal Water Craft (PWC) Licenses in Queensland,” Darryl Greentree said.
“Nearly all our theory classes are on-line these days … it’s the modern way to go. But students still attend practical classes in boat handling and marine safety on our boats before licenses are issued.
“We take our obligations seriously. We don’t just tick and flick students through our courses. We screen people … and if they don’t have the knowledge, or don’t understand their obligations for marine safety … we let them know further study is required.”
Mr Greentree’s team in Manly has grown to be the biggest in Queensland. It is now run by Stephen Redpath, with trainers Stephen McPherson and Sean Harrison, working from Manly’s Coast Guard base.
Mr Greentree said he hopes to hold the next annual Allstate conference in Cairns.
