Boating license: association of schools retorts to allegations

The Italian boating license is a hot topic. To be handled with care. After the publication of Pietro Calvelli’s outburst(here to read the controversy) listing, in his opinion, what did not work in the new boating license, came the response from Confarca, the association of boating schools.

Confarca, through its lawyers, rebuts Calvelli’s claims point by point.

We recommend that you read Confarca’s clarifications carefully; they are interesting and explain why some choices are questionable at first glance. It is up to you to express your opinion. We await comments, possibly recounting your personal experiences.The debate is open!

Boating license – The clarifications and explanations of the boating school association

Here is the letter received which contains interesting and necessary clarifications:

SUBJECT: www.giornaledellavela.com – 10/18/2022 article by Pietro Calvelli

“Boat license. You have to do it, but it doesn’t teach you how to boat“

Request for publication of correction under Art. 8 Law no. 46 of the 1948.

Dear Director,

we had the opportunity to read, with some disappointment, the article signed Pietro Calvelli, published on the website of your magazine “il Giornale della Vela” on 18/10/2022 entitled: “Boating License. You have to do it, but it doesn’t teach you how to go in

boat.”

Therefore, in the name and on behalf of Confarca, the trade association of driving schools, consulting firms, nautical schools and inspection centers, also in order to protect its members, it is considered appropriate to point out the following.

As for the first part of the article, “Boating license: business, prevarication, inefficiency,” it is not clear why the term “business” is used in a negative sense, since we are referring to lawful and properly exercised economic activities (until proven otherwise).

Moreover, the same Yacht club Romagna, of which Mr. Pietro Calvelli appears to be president, does not seem to disdain the vituperated “business” at all, as it organizes and advertises on its official website “courses that will help you get your nautical license quickly and effortlessly” starting at € 390.00…

As for “prevarication,” no circumstance, fact or incident can be found in the article that could justify the use of such a term, which therefore appears to be completely unfounded.

Moreover, beyond the polemical tone, the article contains a relevant number of inaccuracies and errors that deserve to be pointed out. Going in order:

• True, for a long time boating licenses were issued by so-called Circles, but it is equally true that-precisely to curb the numerous and recurrent irregularities-an ad hoc regulatory measure became necessary in the 1990s.

• As for the requirements for carrying out the teaching activity, for which – according to Mr. Calvelli – one would need: “a 10-year driver’s license and the availability for a €60,000 surety bond, ” a reading of Art. 49-septies Boating Code will be sufficient to verify the fallacy of such claims. Moreover, the very provision of a detailed provision such as the one mentioned above will prevent Metropolitan Cities and/or Provinces from regulating the activity in question in a more restrictive way.

• the Ministerial Decree of August 8, 2021 (not October, as reported by Calvelli) does not at all prevent the Naval League and the Italian Sailing Federation from organize courses for obtaining a nautical license, but clarifies-once and for all-that these (nonprofit) associations will only be able to carry out this activity in the interest of their respective members and, in any case, outside the perimeter within which nautical schools operate with the tools of competition and the market, with taxation close to 63 percent.

• As for online courses these, as emerged as a result of their widespread use in schools during the Covid emergency period, cannot ensure adequate preparation of candidates, and it is a mistake to consider the “in-person” model of teaching at nautical schools and, therefore, also at C.I.N. schools, as outdated.

• As for compulsory certifications, one year after the rule went into effect, anyone working in the field will be able to confirm how the preparation of candidates in the practical tests has greatly improved. We really do not believe that such a novelty will be a problem for some established sailor, as it was not for the young champion motorist or motorcyclist “forced” to obtain a B license like any citizen, in deference to the constitutional principle of equality.

• The figure of the private practitioner has not been abolished! So Calvelli’s assertion that there is: “an obligation to be presented by a school deemed as such” is absolutely without foundation.

• There is no “monopoly” situation (strictly speaking: “the concentration of market supply in the hands of a single producer”) in the nautical school sector. There are more than 2,500 nautical schools in Italy. So Mr. Calvelli could, if he wished, open one, the sector having been “liberalized.”

• As for the division of the theoretical test from the practical test, this change was dictated simply by the need to optimize the meager human resources available to the Port Authorities and the DMVs. Examination Boards will be formed and operate more rationally based on the number of candidates, which is usually smaller in practical examinations.

• As for the days set aside for examinations, as is well known, Public Administrations operate on weekdays and, therefore, the boating license examination can only be taken on such occasions. It is trusted that this, in accordance with Art. 8 of Law no. 47/’48, have the honor of being published in your prestigious and excellent magazine, with the same prominence granted to Mr. Calvelli’s article.

Cordially.

Lawyer Enrico Murmura

( Confarca legal department)