Boating in Central & Western New York

The United States Power Squadrons (USPS) is a national organization of recreational boaters dedicated to making boating safer and more fun. USPS is safe boating and known as America's boating club. Our members conduct public boating safety classes and vessel safety checks. We also provide a variety of social and boating activities for our members. Learn more about USPS and what their members do. Check out all of the benefits and savings offered to our members.

District 6 is comprised of 18 squadrons and approximately 1300 individual members. We serve throughout central and western New York State. Please check out our District Map. The location of each of our squadrons are shown on the map, along with links to the individual squadrons websites.

The District bridge is made up of volunteers elected from members of the squadrons. They include the District Commander, five Lieutenant Commanders and many committee volunteers from within the squadrons. As leaders of this level they support, promote, and enhance the functions at the squadron level. They act as the facilitators at meetings of the district and its squadrons.

The District meets four times a year. Two Council meetings and two District Conferences. The purpose of the council meetings is to set the agendas for the respective conferences. In addition, the latest national information is passed along to the squadron management. Additionally, seminars and educational workshops are provided for both the squadron management and members. The conferences are business meetings where the latest national information is discussed, seminars are held to educate the membership, educational training is provided, various social events are provided and enjoyed, and district officers are elected once each year.

Click Here for a link to a map showing all 33 districts within USPS

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Safe Boating Classes

USPS instructors conduct public boating safety classes that meet New York State requirements, including personal watercraft (PWC) certification. Note that as of January 1, 2004, all PWC operators in New York State, regardless of age, are required to complete a boating safety class that includes a proctored examination.

The premier USPS public boating course is the The Squadron Boating Course which now includes an introduction to digital charts and waypoint navigation along with basic topics of navigation rules, charts, the mariner's compass and plotting course. (A hyperlink for The Squadron Boating Course is ... http://www.usps.org/e_stuff/Basic.html ). The popular Boat Smart course covers fundamental navigation rules and satisfies New York State's requirement for PWC education. (A hyperlink for Boat Smart is ... http://www.usps.org/e_stuff/BoatSmart.html ). Just fyi ... a more detailed explanation of the public boating courses may be found at ... http://www.usps.org/national/eddept/bpecom/main.htm

Check the USPS website to locate a boating class near you.

Plotting a course

Mariners know how to navigate from here to there and back again. But we

seldom stop to wonder who figured out how to determine position in the middle

of an ocean, who developed the concept of latitude or who invented the sextant.

To shed light on such mysteries, I constructed the following

navigation history timeline.

Lt Donald R. Allen, P

Evanston (IL) Squadron

Photos courtesy of NOAA & Library and Archives Canada

This reprint from The Ensign February 2005 is well worth reading.

Fog Lifts For Cruising Students

Read about an exciting adventure for some Canadian Power Squadron students published in The Ensign. See how having taken the Boating Course paid off. Would you know what to do if you were suddenly in a deep fog and couldn't see land or other markings?

Vessel Safety Checks

USPS Vessel Safety Examiners conduct free Vessel Safety Checks. A Vessel Safety Check is a courtesy examination of your boat to verify the presence and condition of safety equipment required by State and Federal regulations. The Vessel Examiner is a trained specialist and is a member of USPS or the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. They will make recommendations and discuss safety issues that will make you a safer boater.

This is not a law enforcement issue. No citations will be given as a result of this encounter. We will supply you with a copy of our evaluation so that you can follow the suggestions given. Vessels that pass will be able to display the VSC decal.

Click here to locate a vessel safety examiner near you.

Important Information on Passports and Homeland Security

Traveling to and from Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and many other places that we have not had to produce anything more than a drivers license and a simile is about to change. Know what documents you will need and how to go about getting them long before you start your trip, whether by land, sea, or air. The Department of Homeland Security and The State Department are both available to help you obtain the right information and documents for your travel needs. Find out where to get your passport and what it will cost. If this is your first passport you will need to download form DS-11 and fill it out to take with you with proof of citizenship. Visit the above links and get all of the facts.

Boating and Social Activities

Read about who we are. Find out why all boaters, fishermen, and water-sports enthusiast should be involved with USPS.

Local squadrons host a number of activities for members, including:

Boat cruises and rendezvous
Land and water contests
Picnics and pot luck suppers
Dinner meetings with speakers on boating topics
Dinner dances

Each summer we conduct a district-wide cruise. Recent locations have included Rochester Yacht Club, Gateway Canal Park in Tonawanda, NY, the Finger Lakes, Clayton NY in the Thousand Islands, and Port Credit Yacht Club near Toronto, Ontario.

We also perform public service activities, including:

Public safe boating classes
Vessel safety checks
Location of NOS/NOAA geodetic markers through our Cooperative Charting program
Beach clean-ups

Join Us

All boaters with an interest in boating safety are welcome to join USPS. Test your boating safety knowledge with this twenty question quiz. Members must complete a boating safety class offered by USPS, US Coast Guard Auxiliary, or other approved organization. Click here to Locate a Squadron Near You or call 1-888-FOR-USPS (1-888-367-8777) or 919-821-0281 for more information.

Benefits of membership include:

Access to advanced courses taught by USPS members
Opportunities to learn and share knowledge with experienced boaters
Ability to perform a public service by contributing to boating safety
Family and youth programs
Discounts on state-of-the-art products from:
- C-Map
- Nobeltec
- Dell computers
- SEA TOW, and much more.
Discounts on boat insurance
Discounts on membership to BoatUS
USPS Credit Card program

Our Members Area

Please feel free to enjoy all of the other aspects of USPS life by visiting the members area of this web site by clicking the button in the upper right corner of this page. Here you will find many useful boating links to areas around the district and to areas of our national origination. We hope you enjoy your visit here and come back often as we are always trying to change this site and add new things to it. We believe that a safe boater is an educated boater and hope that you take all of the knowledge you can absorb with you onto the waterways. We encourage you to take The USPS Safe Boating Course at a location near you so that you can more enjoy your time on the water.