USPS Advanced Grade Courses
Advanced Grade Courses are offered to all members.

SEAMANSHIP
Building on the basics learned in Boating, the Seamanship course is an important foundation for other Advanced Grade Courses. The student learns--

• Basic marlinespike seamanship
• Hull design
• Navigation rules
• Operation under normal and adverse conditions
• Responsibilities of the skipper
• Fire prevention and control
• Basic first aid
• Common courtesies on the water
• Boat care
• Nautical Customs and flag etiquete
  

PILOTING
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 movement, 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
• Piloting and labeling charts
  

ADVANCED PILOTING
This is the final part of the inland and coastal navigation series. Emphasis is on the use of modern electronic navigation systems and other advanced techniques for finding one's position. Seamanship and Piloting are prerequisites. Among topics covered are--

• Tides and currents and their effect on piloting
• Finding position using bearings and angles
• Simple use of the mariner's sextant
• Electronic Navigation - radar,loran, GPS, etc.
  

JUNIOR NAVIGATION
Junior Navigation is the first of a two-part program of study in offshore navigation. It is designed as a practical "how to" course. Advanced Piloting is a prerequisite. Subject matter includes the following--

• 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
  

NAVIGATION
This course is the second part of the study of offshore navigation, further developing the student's understanding of celestial navigation theory. Junior Navigation is a prerequisite. 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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