STUDENT INFORMATION
Norwalk Sail & Power Squadron offers the USPS Boating Course to the public at Wilton Meadowbrook School during the spring and fall. Successful completion of the course makes one eligible to receive the state-required Connecticut Safe Boating Certificate (SBC). The test to apply for a Connecticut Certificate of Personal Watercraft Operation also will be available.
For additional information contact our Education Officer Laura Shaw.
Email: boatnsps@optonline.net • Phone: (203) 858-4568
For information, contact Squadron Education Officer Laura Shaw at BoatNSPS@optonline.net or call 203-858-4568
Click here to read a special message regarding class cancellations due to inclement weather, course |
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For information, email Tony Mobilia at anmobilia@sbcglobal.net or call 203-847-0352.
To register, contact Education OfficerLaura Shaw.
Email: boatnsps@optonline.net • Phone: (203) 858-4568
As soon as dates and times of courses are finalized, they will be posted here.
Members have the privilege of taking many in-depth courses. The Advanced Grades courses prepare one for proficiency in seamanship and navigation. Elective Courses include courses covering diverse marine-related topics. Learning Guides are a collection of short home-study guides on special nautical subjects.
*NEW* — USPS University Seminar Series. Two-hour seminars will be offered on various subjects, leading to a Boat Operator Certification as well as credit offered toward Elective Courses for members. Click here for more information.
Having passed the Boating Course and joined the squadron, the following Advanced Grades may be taken: Seamanship, Piloting, Advanced Piloting, Junior Navigation, Navigation. As each course is completed successfully, a member would be entitled to add that grade abbreviation after his or her name (e.g., John Doe, S).
Click on the titles below to see a course description.
Advanced Grades |
Electives |
Learning Guides |
|
| Seamanship | Cruise Planning | Introduction to Sail | Calculators for Navigation |
| Piloting | Weather | Knots, Bends, & Hitches |
Navigational Astronomy |
| Advanced Piloting | Engine Maintenance | Skipper Saver | Oceanography |
| Junior Navigation | Marine Electronics | Water Sports | Amateur Radio |
| Navigation | Instructor Development | Plotting & Labeling Standards | GPS |
| Compass Adjusting | LORAN | ||
| Predicted Log | RADAR | ||
| Sight Reduction Materials | |||
Seamanship
Building on the basics of recreational boating presented in the public boating courses, Seamanship adds foundational information for continuing boater education. The course contents should facilitate knowledge development for increased safe operation of recreational boats and provide the basis for completion of USCG licensing examination. Emphasis within the course has been placed on higher level boating skills, rules of the road, and marlinspike.
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Piloting
The Piloting course is the first in the sequence of USPS courses on navigation, covering the basics of coastal and inland navigation. This all-new course focuses on navigation as it is done on recreational boats today and embraces GPS as a primary navigation tool while covering enough of traditional techniques so the student will be able to find his/her way even if their GPS fails. The course includes many in-class exercises, developing the student’s skills through hands-on practice and learning. Topics covered include:
* Charts and their interpretation
* Navigation aids and how they point to safe water
* Plotting courses and determining direction and distance
* The mariner’s compass and converting between True and Magnetic
* Use of GPS – typical GPS displays and information they provide, setting up waypoints and routes, staying on a GPS route.
* Pre-planning safe courses and entering them into the GPS
* Monitoring progress and determining position by both GPS and traditional techniques such as bearings and dead reckoning
* The “Seaman’s Eye” – simple skills for checking that one is on course.
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Advanced Piloting
This all-new 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
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Junior Navigation
Junior Navigation is the first in a two-part program of study in offshore navigation, followed by the Navigation course. 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
* Reducing sights to establish lines of position
* Special charts and plotting sheets for offshore navigation
* Offshore navigational routines for recreational craft
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Navigation
Junior Navigation is the first in a two-part program of study in offshore navigation, followed by the Navigation course. 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
* Reducing sights to establish lines of position
* Special charts and plotting sheets for offshore navigation
* Offshore navigational routines for recreational craft
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Cruise Planning
Designed for members who plan to cruise for just a day or for a year--in either a sail or powerboat--this course covers the following topics:
* Cruise preparation and planning
* Boat and Equipment
* Anchors and Anchoring
* Security
* Chartering
* Cruising Outside the United States
* Crew and Provisioning
* Voyage Management
* Communications
* Navigation
* Weather
* Emergencies
The manual includes a twelve-month cruise planning timeline. The course is non-modular with one final exam.
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Weather
The Weather course will furnish basic weather knowledge for safer and more enjoyable boating. The student will learn to make weather predictions based upon observations of the sky, upon barometer and wind information, as well as weather data provided by maps, satellite images, and radio and TV broadcasts. Wx 101 and Wx 102 use a USPS supplement manual together with The Weather Book from USA Today (second edition, 1997) as the textbook.
Wx 101 - Basic Weather - topics include:
* Effects of Heat and Cold
* Wind and Pressure
* Storms and Fronts
* Rain, Humidity and Fog
* Floods, Droughts, and Winter Precipitation
Wx 102 - Advanced Weather - topics include:
* Thunderstorms and Tornados
* Tropical Weather
* Atmosphere and Clouds
* Forecasting
* Climate
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Engine Maintenance
The new Engine Maintenance course 2007 has been put into one ten chapter course that stresses the diagnosis of modern systems, while also teaching the basics of engine layout and operation. Gasoline inboards, outboards, and diesel engines are taught in a way that reinforces the common aspects of how engines work. This new course is complete in one book with one exam.
Modern engines offer high reliability and good performance through the use of computerized systems for fuel delivery and engine timing. Most of these systems are “black boxes” that can no longer be serviced by weekend mechanics with ordinary tools. The EM course covers those repairs that do-it-yourselfers can still perform, teaches how to diagnose problems that might be beyond your ability to fix, and how to share information with your mechanic so the right repairs get performed. The new Engine Maintenance 2007 also covers basic mechanical systems such as drive systems (propellers), steering systems, and engine controls. The last chapter discusses solutions you might use to problems that could occur while afloat and away from a repair facility. Gasoline, diesel, and outboard engines are treated independently in this chapter.
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Marine Electronics
The Marine Electronics course consists of three modules: ME 101, Boat Electrical Systems, ME 102, Marine Radio Communications, and ME 103, Marine Electronics for Navigation. There are no prerequisites for any of these modules; however, it is suggested that a member take ME 101 before taking ME 102. All three modules must be successfully completed to receive credit for Marine Electronics.
ME 101, Boat Electrical Systems, provides information about properties of electricity, electrical power requirements and wiring practices, direct current power, alternating current power, galvanic and stray-current corrosion, lightning protection, and electrical interference.
ME 102, Marine Radio Communications, delves into radio waves and transmitters, receivers and transceivers, antennas and transmission lines, FCC Rules and Regulations, FCC Frequency Plan, marine radiotelephone operating procedures, and other communication services (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), Digital Selective Calling (DSC), Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS), satellite communications, amateur radio, and more).
ME 103, Marine Electronics for Navigation, presents information on depth sounders, RADAR, LORAN-C, GPS Navigation, and two new chapters: Electronic Charting, and Computer-Assisted Navigation (CAN). Members may take this module independent of any other ME module.
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Instructor Development
Unlike other USPS courses, the Instructor Development course is not designed to enhance boating skills. Rather, its emphasis is on enhancing instructor skills. The course has been designed to demonstrate interactive teaching methods focused on adult learning. Students are required to prepare lesson plans and give four presentations to their peers utilizing a variety of teaching aids and presentation skills. Each presentation is to be given on a topic from one of the public boating classes with the intent that upon completion of the course every student will be qualified to teach or proctor at a squadron boating class.
Fully developed suggested lesson plans for each chapter are contained in the instructor manual and PowerPoint presentations are available, as well as overhead transparency masters.
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Sail
Sail 101 Basic Sail
* Sailboat Rigs
* Sail Plans
* Boat Design and Hull Types
* Sails
* Standing Rigging
* Running Rigging
* Wind
* Preparing to Sail
* Sailing Upwind
* Sailing Downwind
* Docking and Anchoring
* Marlinespike Seamanship
* Navigation Rules I
Sail 102 Advanced Sail
* Wind Forces
* Stability
* Balance
* Sail Shape
* Tuning the Rig
* Steering and Helmsmanship
* Spinnaker Handling
* Heavy Weather Sailing
* Storm Conditions
* Sailing Safety
* Sailboat Racing
* Race Management
* Navigation Rules II
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