News and Announcements
USPS D/16 Partners with TrawlerFest in Anacortes WA
USPS will again be present at the TrawlerFest - Anacortes WA event (May 14-19, 2013) to engage with the many cruisers from across the country paticipating in this gathering of trawlers. District 16 is supporting the USPS effort by offering our Weather Course as part of the TrawlerFest University program and three of our Seminars during the days of the Fest activities: Boating on Rivers Locks & Lakes, Border Crossing, and Tides and Currents plus putting on demonstrations. Other interesting and useful seminars are also included in the event agenda. PassageMaker/TrawlerFest has offered a $50 discount on admission price for USPS members in Anacortes using our coupon code (listed on the Passagemaker/TrawlerFest store page accessible to members only) at registration. Details of all events and registration options are found at http://www.passagemaker.com/events-series/trawler-fest-anacortes.
Over 150 boaters participated in our seminars at the Ft Lauderdale event lead by D/8. The Baltimore TrawlerFest location is scheduled in the Fall with D/5 support. Contacts made during these events provide potential future Squadron students and members. Your help is important in spreading this information to our members and cruising companions/organizations and that will make this event more successful for both organizations. Come join the fun and bring a fellow boater. Additional information is available from ANEO Bob Palmer. (15 Feb 13)
BoatUS Foundation-USPS Partnership and On-Line USPS Courses
See and hear very important information on the BoatUS Foundation-USPS Partnership that will put USPS courses and seminars on-line very shortly. See how this will impact you and your squadron, and how you can help this effort to promote USPS to all boaters. The PowerPoint Presentation (20407KB, PPSX) runs about 17 minutes, and is the same presentation given to the Governing Board meeting in Jacksonville, FL on 19 January 2013. Like all PowerPoint Presentations, you need to press the Esc key to terminate it when complete. And be sure to adjust the audio level appropriately on your computer, since the audio in the presentation was recorded as the PowerPoint slides were shown at the meeting. (04 Feb 13)
Great Lakes Cruising Club School Webinars Update
We're pleased to announce an exciting new partnership arrangement with the Great Lakes Cruising Club (GLCC) in which all GLCC on-line cruising-related webinars are available to USPS members at reduced USPS registration rates. Over forty webinars are planned for the 2012-13 GLCCSchool curriculum year, which runs from October through April. Note that there are now TWO discount codes, one for single session webinars and another, greater discount code for a special Lake Superior "Five Webinars for the Price of Four" package. Details are available on the USPS GLCCSchool web page. (27 Nov 12)
Certified Instructors SEO/DEO Tool
A new tool to locate certified instructors with their certification expiration dates by squadron or district has been added to the SEO/DEO Tools page. The SEO/DEO Tools web page is also accessible from the SEO and DEO home pages.
The squadron display lists certified instructors in order of their certification expiration date. The district display is ordered by squadron and expiration date. Comments may be directed to the author, Dan Bartell, at dtb@usps.org. (15 Sep 12)
Correction to Appendix A in ABC3 Student Manual 2012 Reprinting
Appendix A in the ABC3 Student Manual provides discussion on Canadian Rules and Regulations. Topic A-1 on page 219 discusses ENTERING CANADA. The discussion incorrectly states non-stop transits by U.S. vessels through Canadian waters need not contact Canadian officials. This change (58KB, PDF) to ABC3 Appendix A removes that discussion and inserts the requirement to report to Canadian officials when crossing the International border for any reason. (02 Jul 12)
Entering Canadian Waters
Many of us who boat in northern coastal regions and the Great Lakes frequently enter Canadian territorial waters during planned cruises and even during day excursions. We have long advised our membership that Canadian law applies once the international border has been crossed regardless of the intent to land in a Canadian port. Most of us are familiar with the need to be compliant with regulations when visiting Canada and reporting procedures on returning to the USA.
To further facilitate communication and avoid the propagation of misinformation this note will advise on current procedures to follow when entering Canadian waters. The rules are unambiguous although the interpretation provided by presenters at squadron and yacht club meetings aimed at updating memberships have been less than complete in the past and often provided conflicting opinions.
The Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) website contains a wealth of information to explain the details of the processes: http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/media/facts-faits/096-eng.html A short synopsis is available in this PDF document (292KB).
Regardless the intent to land in Canada and visit a marina we are required to document crossing the international border by calling the Telephone Reporting Centre (TRC). Call 1-888-226-7277.
Please disseminate this information to all and post to websites. (28 Jun 12)
ABC3 On The Water Guide Now Available.
The ABC3 On-The-Water Teaching Aid Guide is now available for downloading and use from the Downloads section of the ABC3 page. The Guide takes the classroom knowledge to actual on-water experience, covering the material in the ABC3 2012 reprinting, 8 and 12 hour course versions. Concomitant to building confidence in new boaters, these skills will establish a foundation for on-the-water training in advanced courses and seminars, and foster interest in the BOC program. (15 May 12)
Sea Tow ARC Stickers
Sea Tow has created a network of radio stations to allow boaters to do “radio checks” without using VHF Ch 16. USPS has received a FREE stock of Sea Tow stickers and they are ready for SEOs and DEOs to order using either the SOF or the Free Brochures Form, using inventory number 09-92-001 “Sea Tow ARC Sticker”. The SOF or Free Brochures Form can be emailed as a PDF to Cindy Hodges at hodgesc@hq.usps.org. In order to be sure the initial orders are spread across all areas of use, there is a limit of 100 per squadron. If you have a major event planned, additional stickers may be released by request to the ANEO. One sticker will be included with each course or seminar manual so every student will receive one. More information is in this PDF document. (10 May 12)
Short Web Addresses
To make it easier for you to cite and use the Educational Department web pages, we've shortened three of our most used web addresses.
To get to this page—the Educational Department home page—you can enter into your browser either usps.org/education, www.usps.org/education, www.usps.org/eddept or just usps.org/eddept. Any of these addresses will bring you to this page. And once you get here, don't forget to bookmark or make this page one of your favorites so that it's easier to get here next time.
To find a public boating course, you can use either www.usps.org/findacourse or usps.org/findacourse. Either one will take a user to the search page where a user can find a USPS public boating course close to home. You can also copy this QR Code image and add it to flyers so that smartphone users can just scan it and be taken directly to the Find a Course web page.
To find a seminar, you can use either www.usps.org/findaseminar or usps.org/findaseminar. Either one will take a user to the search page where a user can find a USPS seminar close to home. You can also copy this QR Code image and add it to flyers so that smartphone users can just scan it and be taken directly to the Find a Seminar web page. (Reposted 16 Apr 12)
Leadership Training for Educational Department
The Leadership of the Educational Department feels strongly that our educational leaders should avail themselves of the opportunity to participate in the series of courses titled DAO/SAO, DXO/SXO, DC/SC offered by the Leadership Development Committee. This series offers insight into issues that relate to any leadership position whether within USPS or not. A number of these Leadership Development courses are currently scheduled around the country, including Raleigh NC, to make them close to the audiences, and are open to all Educational Department leaders. There are also courses planned for the Detroit Governing Board meeting. We would like to encourage as many of the DEOs and R/Cs as possible to participate in these meetings; SEOs are also welcome to attend. Space is limited however. Full details are listed in this PDF document (69KB). (27 Mar 12)
Weems and Plath Discount
Weems and Plath is offering USPS members a 25% discount on anything ordered via their web site. Check out the details at the Weems and Plath store. The discount program has been extended again. (04 Feb 13)
Model Anchor Sets Available for Loan
These model anchors come as 11 per set. They are an excellent tool for squadrons and districts to use when teaching anchoring techniques in classes and seminars. They may be borrowed by submitting a completed Standard Order Form to USPS Customer Service. The item number is 11-63-001, and the description is Stainless Steel Anchor Set. More details including the reservation schedule and a picture of a model anchor set are on the model anchors web page. (20 Dec 11)
New Apps for Boaters Web Page
A new web page listing potentially useful apps for boaters using mobile devices is now available from any Educational Department web page on the left side navigation menu under Miscellany. The page includes both iTunes Store and Android Market apps. A form is also available on the page for you to submit other boating-related apps you've found useful. (18 Dec 11)
HQ-800 User Self-Help / Education
HQ-800 training PDF and PPTX files have been moved to the ABC3 web page under Downloadable Material.
USPS Boat Insurance Educational Discounts
The premise behind the USPS Boat Insurance Program is to reward members for their dedication and passion for on-the-water safety by providing reduced insurance premiums. On top of low base rates, USPS Boat Insurance customers can reduce their premium even further, up to 23%, through completion of various USPS advanced courses. And completing boat operator certification can add to these discounts as much as an additional 15%, for a total discount of 38%! See the USPS Boat Insurance web page for details. (31 Oct 11, updated 01 Mar 12)
Revised Procedure for Enrolling Non-Member Students in USPS University and Ordering Exams
Exams can be ordered for non-members, but they first must be enrolled in USPS University. Please follow the attached procedure 143KB, PDF) for enrolling the non-member students in USPS University and ordering exams. The non-member will get a certificate number that may be used for all future courses and seminars and will become their membership number on joining USPS. The enrollment only needs to take place once for each student. (15 Aug 11)
Inflatable Life Vests on Planes
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has published a flyer that clarifies what constitutes prohibited items on aircraft. Because of the compressed gas cartridges that are a part of inflatable life vests, they fit this description, but there is an exception. See the TSA flyer (894KB, PDF) under "Disabling Chemicals & Other Dangerous Items" for details. You are also advised to bring this flyer with you just in case your local TSA authority questions carrying your inflatable life vests and spare cartridges aboard. (22 Jun 10)
PowerPoint/Flash Problems
If you have been trying to use PowerPoint for one of our courses or seminars and receive the error message "Some controls on this presentation can't be activated. They may not be registered on your computer.", try the following few steps from Microsoft Tech Services that should help resolve the problem:
The error message you are seeing is usually related to a flash OCX file not being properly registered on your computer. You could try the following to resolve your issue:
-
Quit PowerPoint.
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Run the following command (using Start -> in the start search box, type in the following command):
regsvr32.exe "C:\WINDOWS\system32\Macromed\Flash\Flash.ocx"
Note that the exact path may vary and the command should be applied to any of the following files that exist in the noted directory:
- flash.ocx
- flash8.ocx
- flash9.ocx
This information was contributed by P/R/C Wil Hugli. (17 Apr 10)
Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary Course Credits
Did you know that members who have certain Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary certificates can get credit as having passed USPS courses? Check out the Frequently Asked Questions page for details. (11 Nov 09)
Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) Registrations
United States Power Squadrons is now offering MMSI registrations to most recreational boaters. Get more detailed information from the Marine Electronics web page or the USPS MMSI web page. (17 Jun 08)
Boat U.S. Hurricane Resource Center
Be prepared for hurricane season with tips from the Boat
U.S. Hurricane Resource Center.
Read more...
Archived Files
Various presentations, information, and files that have been listed on the Educational Department home page in the past but which may now be outdated are available on the Archived Pages web page. (29 Feb 12)
