As you may or may not know, I started producing a show in 2006 called Smart Boating. The show which airs weekly on CATV, and 30 other local public access cable TV stations around the country, is designed to help boaters make “smarter” decisions so that they can more fully enjoy their time on the water.

Just the other night I completed the 100^th show. Quite a milestone, as over the years, I’ve invested 1,800-2,000 hours in the series which many people here locally and across the U. S. have viewed with interest.

I wanted to share the news for a few reasons.

1) It’s really quite a feat to do achieve this volunteer effort, while holding down a “day job”

2) The show is really helpful to many local boaters, both inexperienced and experienced, and could be to even more of them, if they were aware of it

3) CATV, our local public access cable TV station, is still a pretty well kept secret and it would be good to continue to educate the public on what the local station does and how it supports them

Thanks. Paul Jermain

Smart Boating TV show producer, Paul Jermain, announced the release of the 100^th program of the popular Smart Boating local public cable access TV show series today.

The informative weekly TV show, developed to help boaters make more informed, “smarter” decisions about boating topics, first aired in August 2006. Since then, a broad variety of areas have been covered including: boat purchases-new and used; components-propellers, electrical systems and upholstery; boat types- USCG, electric, PT and wooden; boat maintenance-commissioning and winterizing; and safety-weather, life rafts and man overboard procedures, among others.

“The show started from humble beginnings,” according to Jermain, “The idea came from a lunchtime conversation with a marine surveyor friend who stated that he thought I could produce a better show than a well-known syndicated boating show that was airing at the time. I was unfamiliar with how to produce a TV show, but felt that my instructional background developed through my Entrepreneurial Training Program work would enable me to produce a quality program. So, I stopped into the local public access cable TV studio the next day and asked for training. Three weeks later, the first show “How To Protect Your Boat In Event of A Hurricane” was produced.”

Shows are primarily shot in the field with expert guests who provide solid advice on top of carefully researched, thorough, show discussion guides. And the entire process, from topic selection to editing, which typically takes about fifteen hours, is done strictly on a volunteer basis.

Donna Gacek, Cape Ann TV Executive Director stated, “We are proud to have supported Paul in the achievement of this significant milestone. Our mission is to serve as an important community resource that gives everyone a voice. The Smart Boating program is a fine example of programming made by the community, for the community. We welcome volunteers at all levels and endeavor to work closely with them to reach their personal goals.”

The Smart Boating TV show airs weekly on Cape Ann TV Channel 12 on Tuesday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Friday afternoons at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday afternoons at 2:30 p.m., and on thirty other local public access cable TV station channels on the North Shore, and across the U.S.

Paul Jermain, a Manchester resident, leads an Entrepreneurial Training Program for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts with Northern Essex Community College, and is a member of the Cape Ann TV board of directors.