Boat School is one of the four schools the player may take part in in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. It is located in Bayside Marina, which is located in the town of Bayside in northwest Tierra Robada. The Boat School is unlocked after the mission Deconstruction.
Its completion is also entirely optional, and only has to be completed to achieve a statistical 100%. It consists of several basic and some advanced tests on using a boat. Completing these will reward the player boats. For 100% completion, the player only has to achieve all bronzes on the boat school.
Despite being outside of San Fierro, Boat School is unlocked after completing the mission Deconstruction, several missions before the Gant Bridge to Tierra Robada opens. However, the school is just outside of the area that would give Carl a 4-star wanted level, so one can take a boat to the school. All courses can be completed without attaining a wanted level except for the final test which starts in locked-off territory, but the wanted level will vanish once the mission is completed.
Tests
Basic Seamanship
- Time limit: 12 seconds
- Given vehicle: Coastguard
- The player is required to navigate the boat and rest within the parallel buoys region in under 12 seconds without turning the boat.
- To attain the gold medal, the player must rest the boat in the parallel buoys region in under 10 seconds.
Plot a Course
- Time limit: 40 seconds
- Given vehicle: Coastguard
- The player is required to navigate the boat through pairs of buoys and finish the course in under 40 seconds.
- Applying the handbrake is recommended for every sharp turn.
- To attain the gold medal, the player must navigate through the buoys in under 30 seconds.
Fresh Slalom
- Time limit: 120 seconds (2 minutes)
- Given vehicle: Dinghy
- The player is required to navigate the boat through pairs of buoys and finish the course in under 120 seconds.
- This test is similar to Plot a Course, but with more pairs of buoys to navigate through and many sharp turns, being easier to undertake by applying the handbrake.
Flying Fish
- Time limit: 45 seconds
- Given vehicle: Vortex
- The player is required to jump over 55 meters from a ramp and land in the area where the buoys are located.
- The player is highly recommended to gain velocity by backing off and accelerating for the best results. Unnecessary turns can cause the hovercraft to spin out of control.
- To attain the gold medal, the player must jump over 65 meters or further.
Land, Sea and Air
- Time limit: 180 seconds (3 minutes)
- Given vehicle: Vortex
- The player is required to navigate through pairs of buoys, having to perform jumps, sharp turns and finish in under 180 seconds.
- There are many sharp turns in this test, so the player must pay attention so as not to hit the buoys and damage their hovercraft.
- To attain the gold medal, the player must complete this test in under 130 seconds (2 minutes and 10 seconds).
Scoring
Rewards
The reward for all bronze is a Marquis, for all silver a Squalo and for all gold a Jetmax. These will be docked in a small pier near the school.
Video
Trivia
- The music which plays when the player has succeeded in a course for either the boat or the bike school is not created by Rockstar, but by Westar Music, a company which offers royalty free sound effects and music. The track is called 'Slotback'.
- The in-game clock will be automatically reset to 12:50 upon entering the boat school. The weather is also set to sunny.
- In the official strategy guide for the game, the boating school is listed as being unlocked after the Pier 69 mission (the first mission that involves a boat) via a phone call. This may hint that in the beta version of the game, Bayside was unlocked with San Fierro.
- If a boat gets in the way of another boat focused on the TV, the boat that gets in the way will float mid air.
- During two tests, Fresh Slalom and Land, Sea and Air, seagulls can be heard along the bay. This is the only occasion in the game when it happens.
- After some time doing any course, a Police Maverick spawns and hovers in the air with a pilot inside. This is unusual, as Police Mavericks that appear during wanted levels do not have pilots operating them.