Cruise Planning
This site is provided as a means of communications with the USPS National Marine Environment Committee (MEnvCom). We welcome your questions and comments on our courses, seminars and associated materials.
R/C Charles J. Wells, SN
Stf/C Robert F. Anderson, AP
Topics
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News
Course Update in Process
A major rewrite of the course is in process and is expected to be completed by the end of 2012. The project includes a new Student Manual, Instructor Guide, a Slide Presentation with notes, and a full set of examination questions. In addition to the traditional cruise planning topics, the new manual will include descriptions and tips about some actual cruise routes/areas (the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, Inland Rivers, Northwest Pacific Coast, and the Great lakes). The course will also include a class virtual cruise planning exercise that will involve the major elements of cruise planning (charts, guidebooks, route, provisioning/meals, etc.). (19 Feb 12)
Locking-Through Presentation
See the Downloadable Material section for an excellent PowerPoint presentation on locking-through. (29 Jun 11)
Corrected Slide
Download a corrected slide for CP03 Section 2 on Boat and Equipment to correct a spelling error on slide 42, or download all the section 2 slides, including the corrected slide, as a zip file (1.87MB). (08 Feb 11)
USPS Local Telephone Number in Course Manuals
Some Cruise Planning course student and instructor manuals have an incorrect local telephone number for USPS Headquarters on the Acknowledgements Page. The correct local telephone number is 919-821-0281. The toll-free number is still 1-888-367-8777 (1-888-FOR-USPS). (21 Dec 10)
Cruise Planning Course Description
There is something very special about the thrill of cruising in new waters and the sense of accomplishment upon completing an extended cruise. To go beyond what most boaters do on a weekend overnight or even a week or so marina hopping requires boaters to leave their normal cruising areas and comfort zones. The Cruise Planning course focuses on the planning and preparation necessary for safe enjoyable extended cruises on both inland and coastal waters.
Designed for members who cruise on either a sail or powerboat (owned or chartered)—this course covers the following topics:
- Cruise preparation and planning - General
- Boat and Equipment
- Anchors and Anchoring
- Security
- Chartering
- Cruising Outside the United States
- Crew and Provisioning
- Voyage Management
- Communications
- Navigation
- Weather
- Emergencies
The manual includes a comprehensive cruise planning timeline.
The Cruise Planning Course can be comfortably taught in eight two-hour sessions including time for review and the multiple choice closed book exam, but each instructor will determine the pace of the course.
Downloadable Material
Locking-Through Presentation
John and Judy Gill produced an excellent slide presentation (PPT, 28,378KB) about locking-through. We are posting it so that instructors and others can have the benefit of it. A separate document (70KB, PDF) is available with the script for the PPT slides. (29 Jun 11)
Cruise Planning 2003 Update 01
Updates are provided to keep the course material as current as possible. The national course chairman welcomes all comments and suggestions. This Update includes submissions received by the Committee from interested Cruise Planning instructors and students. Contact the Committee Chairman if you have suggestions for course improvements.
Cruise Planning 2003 Update
01, dated 14 August 2004, is available in PDF format (73KB).
Cruise Planning 2003 PowerPoint® Presentation Slides
These PowerPoint slide presentations were created with PowerPoint 2002. You will need Microsoft PowerPoint or its free viewer to view or print these slides. See the Educational Department Help page to obtain a free viewer for these slides. The files are in compressed format (.zip) for faster downloads. (23 Jan 04)
| CP03 - Chapter 1 (657KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 2 (1919KB) (corrected 08 Feb 11) Corrected Slide 42 Only (342KB) (08 Feb 11) |
| CP03 - Chapter 3 (2485KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 4,5,6 (467KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 7 (1624KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 8 (656KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 9 (100KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 10 (621KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 11 (1379KB) |
| CP03 - Chapter 12 (552KB) |
| CP02 - Timeline (8KB) |
Weather Log
The following Weather Logs are for use in both the Cruise Planning and Weather courses.
- Weather Log in Acrobat format (PDF, 13KB)
- Weather Log in MS Excel format (XLS, 26KB)
Questions or Comments?
If you have any questions or comments about the Cruise Planning course, please contact the National Marine Environment Committee chairman by e-mail, phone or postal service mail. Please be sure to keep your SEO and/or DEO advised of any correspondence you may have with the National committee. Addresses for the National MEnvCom chairman are listed in The ENSIGN and on the Committee Chairpersons page.
We will try to answer your questions as soon as possible, but please allow 5 working days for an answer.
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