Sail and Power Squadron
SEAMANSHIP MODULE DESCRIPTION
Now, Seamanship has real content of its own. It is no longer just an extension of the American Boating Course, but has solid, practical content that boaters need to know. We are now taking a positive approach to boating education. Rather than focusing on everything that may go wrong, we are emphasizing what you need to do to maintain safe control of your boat. Seamanship highlights boat handling – how boats handle in the water, slow speed maneuvering, and then to sea in open water. Its eight chapters can easily be covered in nine weeks. The material is suited to the new member and aimed at practical rather than being overly technical. Full of tips and techniques, this course is a must for any boater. Beyond preparation and the boat handling topics which occupy the first four chapters, Seamanship covers a serious dose of “the Rules of the Road,” followed by anchoring, emergency conditions, and marlinspike.
To make Rules of the Road an interesting and practical part of the course, we turned to McGraw-Hill and asked their author, Charlie Wing, to reformat his popular book to our needs. This resulted in The One Minute Guide to the Nautical Rules of the Road that is now branded in bookstores as a USPS Guide and is included along with the Student Manual with the course. Charlie does a terrific job of explaining the rules which is what we really need to know and are likely to remember. We also wanted a course that was robust enough to help prepare a member to
sit for a Coast Guard Captain’s License exam if they sought to do so. We’ve added a self-study appendix supplemented by information on the web site to help those pursuing a license. Far more of our members will want to pursue our new USPS Boat Operator Certification and Seamanship is a key part of that program.
SEAMANSHIP