Advanced Grades courses

Advanced Grades courses meet on Wednesday at 1900 at The Sound School. See our calendar for starting dates.

Seamanship Grade: S 

Building on the basics learned in Boating, Seamanship is an important foundation for other "advanced grade" courses. The student learns:

S101 Seamanship	S102 Boat Handling
Marlinespike Safety The Skipper's Responsibilities Before Leaving the Dock Weather and Wave Forms Nautical Etiquette and Customs	Hull Design and Care Docking and Undocking, Towing, Trailering Anchoring, Rafting, Mooring and Dinghies Cruising Considerations Boating Emergencies - Be Prepared

Piloting Grade: P 

This course is the first of a two-part program studying inland and coastal navigation. Its focus is on the fundamentals of piloting -- keeping track of a boat's movements, determining one's position at any time and laying out courses to a planned destination. Included are subjects such as:

• Charts and their use
• Aids to navigation
• The mariner's compass
• Variation and deviation of the compass
• Plotting and steering courses
• Dead reckoning
• Plotting and labeling charts

 is worn when the wearer has passed both Seamanship and Piloting.

Advanced Piloting Grade: AP 

This course continues to build coastal and inland navigation skill, allowing the student to take on more challenging conditions -- unfamiliar waters, limited visibility, and extended cruises. GPS is embraced as a primary navigation tool while adding radar, chartplotters and other electronic navigation tools. As with Piloting, the course includes many in-class exercises, advancing the student's skills through hands-on practice and learning. Topics covered include:

• Review of skills learned in Piloting
• Advanced positioning techniques such as advancing a line of position
• Other electronics:  radar, depth sounders, autopilots, chartplotters, laptop computer software, etc.
• Hazard avoidance techniques using electronics (e.g., "keep out" zones in GPS)
• Collision avoidance using radar and GPS
• Working with tides: clearances, depth, effects of current
• Piloting with wind and currents
• The "Seaman's Eye" – simple skills for checking that one is on course

Junior Navigator Grade: JN 

Junior Navigation is the first in a two-part program of study in offshore navigation. It is designed as a practical "how to" course. Subject matter includes:

• Precise time determination
• Use of the Nautical Almanac
• Taking sextant sights of the sun, moon, planets and stars
• Reducing sights to establish lines of position
• Special charts and plotting sheets for offshore navigation
• Offshore navigational routines for recreational craft

Navigator Grade: N 

This course is the second part of the study of offshore navigation, further developing the student's understanding of celestial navigation theory. The course covers:

• Additional sight-reduction techniques
• Honing skills in sight taking and positioning
• Orderly methods for the navigator's day's work at sea
• Navigating with minimal resources, as in a lifeboat

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