Description of Course:
This is the basic boating course taught by the Squadron. The course is open to the public. The only cost to the student is for course materials. These courses are usually available at Rockland District High School, Medomak Valley High School, and Belfast Area High School.
Call our Educational Officer Lt/C Royan Bartley (207) 236-7792 or refer to the course schedule for further information.
Course Subjects cover: boat terms, marine radiotelephone, introduction to knots, aids to navigation, charts, boat handling, plotting a course, the mariner's compass, distance speed and time, determining position, government regulations, navigation rules, and personal watercraft operation.
Successful completion of the course offers membership in the Squadron and access to our advanced courses.
Description of Course:
If you have a hand held GPS receiver and are confused about some of the functions provided, this is the course for you! This one day seminar provides an overview of the GPS system, a thorough discussion of the typical hand held receiver's functionality, and lots of one-on-one training with your own particular unit. The USPS® GPS Course is intended for boaters, kayakes, hikers, snowmobilers, white-water rafters, hunters, and anybody else who relies upon GPS location determination while having fun in the great outdoors.
Call our Educational Officer Lt/C Royan Bartley (207) 236-7792 or refer to the course schedule for further information.
Description of Course:
Building on the fundamentals taught in the basic Squadron Boating courses, Seamanship is the recommended first course for new members, both power boaters and sailors. Here, the student learns about boat handling under normal and adverse conditions, navigation rules, fire prevention and control, practical marlinespike, navigation rules, hull design and performance, the responsibilities of the skipper, boat care, what to do in various emergencies, weather conditions, nautical customs and common courtesy on the water. This important foundation course is a prerequisite for other "advanced grade" USPS® core courses.
Description of Course:
This is the first of two courses studying inland and coastal navigation. It begins with the fundamentals of charts and their use in plotting courses, the use of a compass to hold a boat on course and the technique of dead reckoning. The student will combine these skills as he learns how to keep track of a boat's movements, how to determine one's position at any time and how to lay out courses to planned destinations. This course is a prerequisite for further studies in navigation. It is open to all squadron members and is normally taken after Seamanship.
Description of Course:
Members who have completing Seamanship and Piloting will want to take Advanced Piloting to complete their near-shore cruising education. You will learn sophisticated methods of finding and plotting your position. You will also learn how to avoid dangerous water conditions, to figure out if there will be enough water to enter your marina, or too much water to get under the bridge, or if the current is too strong for your boat to get through the pass quickly. You'll also learn how to determine your compass deviation and how to prepare a deviation table for your boat.
Successful completion of this important course puts you in a position to safely navigate 2/3 of the worlds oceans!
Description of Course:
When you have completed your near-shore education through Advanced Piloting, you are now ready to play in the BIG LEAGUES and learn to navigate the WORLD! Junior Navigation is the course that will tell you everything you've wanted to know about electronic navigation, and will also introduce you to celestial navigation--finding your way using only the stars and planets. This is the way that the old timers did it, and the way you'll need to do it when the batteries die or the equipment fails.
Description of Course:
And now, after Junior Navigation, comes the full dose of celestial navigation! The Navigation course will teach nearly everything there is to know about finding your way using only a sextant and celestial bodies. In fact, you'll even learn how to find where you are in emergency, lost-at-sea situations when you don't have even a sextant. When you take Navigation, you will learn not only how to use celestial navigation, but also the theory behind it--why it works.
Description of Course:
This course will provide the essential background needed to prepare for a cruise, and will be applicable for cruise durations of a day, a week, a month, or longer or cruise environments including rivers, lakes, the coasts, or across the open oceans. In all cases, cruise planners can glean much useful information from those that have preceded them. Such information comprises the basis around which this course has been developed. The topics discussed include: planning the voyage, financing the voyage, equipping the boat, crew selection, provisioning, voyage management, navigation planning, weather planning, communications in various environments and national territories, entering and clearing foreign and domestic ports, anchors and anchoring, emergencies afloat, medical emergencies and security. This course is open to all Squadron members. No prerequisites.
Description of Course:
This course provides a through study of the terminology of sailing, types of hulls, rigs, and sail-plans, running and standing rigging and their adjustment and tuning, and sailboat marlinespike. The dynamics of sailing are covered including: hull and water forces caused by wind and waves, forces versus balance, techniques of sailing, points of sail, sail handling, sailing under various wind conditions from light air to storm survival, boat operation and emergency techniques unique to sailboats. Open to all members. No prerequisites
Description of Course:
This course attempts to make the student more self-reliant afloat by teaching high level "how it works" concepts, and by giving special emphasis to trouble diagnosis, temporary remedies and safety measures. Both gasoline and diesel engines are covered, as are key engine subsystems, including: propulsion systems, cooling systems, fuel systems, lubricating systems, and power train systems. The course is open to all Squadron members. No prerequisites.
Description of Course:
This course provides essential knowledge about your boat's electrical and electronic systems. Proper wiring, grounding, electrolysis control, and batteries and their maintenance are covered. Depth finders, marine radio telephones, radar, location systems such as GPS and loran. Advanced systems for electronic charting and navigation are also studied. Information is provided on FCC requirements for station licensing and operator permits for radio telephone. Open to all members. No prerequisites
Description of Course:
The Weather course is designed to teach a student how to make weather observations and predictions for more enjoyable boating. Topics include:
- What weather is and its basic causes
- Awareness of weather phenomena
- How to read a weather map and the sky
- How to understand and anticipate weather developments
- Structure and characteristics of the atmosphere
- Factors considered in weather forecasting
- Sources and use of weather forecasting
- Instrument and visual observations the skipper
can make
Open to all members. No prerequisites
Description of Course:
The Operations Training Program provides an orientation to the organizational structure and policies of USPS and to the programs and activities of its squadrons, districts and national organization. It is a management tool designed to promote excellence in the performance of volunteer service. It is not a course of instruction, followed by an evaluation of achievement through an examination. Rather, it is a self-improvement program presented to enable participants to evaluate their own performance and that of others against criteria of excellence and USPS policy. The course is open to all Squadron members. No prerequisites
Description of Course:
A Vessel Safety Check is a courtesy examination of
recreational boats (vessels) to verify the presence
and condition of certain safety equipment required by
State and Federal regulations. This course and a
follow-up "on the boat" qualification
training session will prepare you to become a Vessel
Safety Examiner, authorized to perform this vital
USPS safety service to fellow squadron members and
the public at large.
Description of Course:
This course is designed to hone your presentation skills in both classroom and general meeting environments. The course teaches a core set of practical skills and methodologies and includes practice assignments in the preparation and delivery of presentations. Visual and other types of teaching aids that can enhance a presentation are studied and the student is afforded the opportunity to become familiar with their best use. The course is open to all Squadron members. No prerequisites
MID-COAST SAIL & POWER SQUADRON
DISTRICT 19
A Unit of the United States Power Squadrons -- Sail and Power Boating
This page was last modified on: