In less than 5 hours, you will learn why and how:

This seminar is free for all students that registered for the 2016 Americas Boating Course (ABC3); cost of materials is $50 for non-ABC3 students.

 Using GPS:

GPS has become a common tool for navigation. However using GPS on the water is distinctly different from a moving map display in your car.

This seminar explains the principles of waypoint navigation which you will use. It then shows you how to relate the GPS to your charts which provide essential information about what is around you.

The seminar also shows you how to operate your GPS, what the buttons do, what the screens show, and how to access the functions you need. A handheld GPS is used as the demonstration model, but all GPS receivers function similarly.

By the time you have completed the seminar, you will be able to store waypoints into your GPS, activate them for navigation, and use GPS to keep you on a safe, pre-qualified course of your choosing. You willll also get some tips for choosing a GPS if you do not currently own one.

ANCHORING 

Don't drift!  Understand the issues and problems involving anchoring, such as anchor types and sizes.  Learn proper anchoring techniques for your area.  By understanding anchoring conditions and situations, you'll protect your boat and get a good night's sleep on the water. The seminar materials include the Anchoring Seminar booklet and an optional Anchoring QuickGuide.

What's Included?

       ·         Anchor types

       ·         What size anchor

       ·         Anchoring

       ·         Tips and tricks

       ·         Buying an anchor

       ·         Where common anchors work best

       ·         How much line or chain to use

“A veering wind will clear the sky;
A backing wind says storms are nigh.”

All boaters have heard this mariners’ proverb or similar ones. They have a salty flavor that takes us back to the era of sailing ships. In this seminar students will learn the meteorological basis for them.

The safety and comfort of those who venture out-on-the-water have always been weather dependent. This seminar is a must for boaters who have never taken a weather course or would like to brush up on their forecasting. The complex subject of weather is presented in a way that is both understandable and useful. Topics include:

• Air Masses and Fronts;
• Winds;
• Storms;
• Clouds and Thunderstorms;
• Fog; and
• Forecasting

Each participant also receives a Student Guide with slide images and complete notes written especially for the seminar.

Using VHF & VHF/DSC Marine Radio

VHF radio is the mainstay of coastal communication and essential for emergency communications. Digital Selective Calling (DSC) is rapidly becoming a reality as more Coast Guard Rescue 21 System operations go live. Currently, the Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts are operational with DSC and all USCG vessels are DSC equipped. The Great Lakes and OCONUS islands (stations San Juan, Honolulu and Guam) will be complete by early 2012 and the western rivers will be active by 2014. Alaskan stations will come on line in 2017.

DSC vastly simplifies and improves rescue and routine call signaling - making it easier to make a call while the system frees up Channel 16 for essential communications. However, you need to know how to use it. This seminar answers those needs and explains basic VHF operation. A CD is included with a DSC Simulator that allows you to practice on your computer at home. A handy waterproof McGraw-Hill Captain's Quick Guide Using VHF is included with essential information that you should have aboard, which will explain to anyone on your crew how to use the radio.

Locate a Seminar near you. 

 CPR Training Course 

When medical emergencies occur aboard a vessel at sea, quick and appropriate action becomes a life-saving event. In addition to a cardiac arrest, suffering a compound fracture from a fall, having an allergic reaction to a bee sting, or falling overboard into cold water, can become a major trauma unless someone on board knows exactly what to do. The chance of permanent injury, shock, or death to what would have been a routine call to "911" is not just possible, but likely. The way to ensure the best possible outcome to a medical emergency is through CPR and First Aid training.

 In 2014 this seminar was geared toward the ladies.  This year, we take a closer look at the team effort that can either make or break an exciting day on the water.  We'll pay particular attention to the tips & techniques that can help you safely launch and recover your boat while minimizing the stresses that inevitably occur when the ramp is crowded.

MARINE RADAR 

What's Included?

• RADAR basics
• Operator controls
• Operator aids
• Collision avoidance
• Navigation
• RADAR display
• Target identification
• Headings
• Ranges
• Rain and snow effects

Don't get lost in the fog.  Whether you want to navigate safely or decide what equipment to purchase, this seminar provides clear advice.  Learn how RADAR works, how to use it effectively, and its limitations as a piloting aid.  You'll also receive a copy of The RADAR Book by Kevin Monahan, as well as Student Notes with copies of slides.

EMERGENCIES ON BOARD

What's Included?

• Prevent accidents
• Make emergency calls and signals
• Deal with running aground
• Handle a person overboard situation
• Put out files onboard
• Deal with losing power
• Deal with medical conditions
• Deal with steering failures
• Deal with getting lost 

Learn how to adequately prepare for common emergencies and deal with them when they occur.  Gain practical knowledge about accident prevention, running aground, onboard fires, getting lost, towing, and medical emergencies.  A must-have for skippers, this seminar provides valuable skills for anyone venturing on the water. 

The seminar comes with the Emergencies on Board QuickGuide—a handy reference to use in responding to emergency situations, as well as a full color Student Guide for the seminar.

CROSSING BORDERS 

What's Included?

• Understand the immigration and customs process
• Prepare and carry the correct documents for your crossing
• Who are and how to contact the proper authorities
• Timelines for the entry and departure processes
• What can’t be carried across the borders

If you live in the border states, you can cross international borders and visit our neighbors to the north or south. But what do you need to know? This seminar explains the immigration and customs process and the programs that enable boaters to easily cross into Canada, Mexico or the Bahamas. Be prepared by having the correct documents; we can help you get there. Each student receives a full color Student Guide especially written for the seminar.

PADDLE SMART

Encompassing everything from paddleboards to canoes and kayaks, paddleboats make boating affordable and accessible for everyone.  USPS training helps you do it safely.  Based on a compendium of information from the paddling community, this seminar prepares you to boat safely on small lakes, streams, and rivers. The seminar kit includes an attendee workbook for note-taking and reference. “The Complete Sea Kayaker’s Handbook” by Shelly Johnson and “Introduction to Paddling – canoeing basics for lakes and rivers” by the American Canoe Association are optionally available.

What's Included?

• Risks
• Safety
• Paddle craft “language”
• How to select a paddle craft
• Necessary equipment
• Life jackets for paddlers
• Paddles
• Optional equipment
• Helmets
• Cold water protection

HURRICANE PREPARATION FOR BOATERS

When a named storm threatens, you need to be prepared and protect your boat.  In this short seminar, you'll learn how to select a location from which to weather the storm and prepare your boat for a hurricane. The kit includes Student Notes with copies of the slides.

Hurricane Preparation for Boaters may be taken in a squadron-run session or as a fully interactive online learning experience.  Either way, this comprehensive seminar can be completed in 2-4 hours.

What’s Included?

• Check vessels and gear
• Review marina/dockmaster contracts
• Make plans
• Check your trailer
• Prepare a storm plan
• Lessons learned from storms
• Hurricane anchoring
• Be storm ready
• Your responsibilities
• Post-hurricane efforts of US Coast Guard and law enforcement
• Insurance

INTRODUCTION TO NAVIGATION

Do you want to learn practical techniques to plan, navigate, and check your progress on the water? It's not that hard, and modern marine electronics like GPS and Chartplotters make it even easier.

This seminar will introduce you to using nautical charts to determine safe routes, creating waypoints in your Chartplotter and other GPS devices, and basic electronic navigation and planning using the free downloadable OpenCPN software. This seminar is a great foundation for advanced courses that teach piloting and celestial navigation skills.

The student kit includes the Introduction to Navigation booklet with integrated discussion to the instructor PowerPoint classroom presentation, including directions to download navigation charts and the OpenCPN software application.

 What's Included?

·         Nautical charts

·         Waypoint navigation using a chartplotter

·         Navigation planning using OpenCPN software

·         Navigation while underway

·         What to do when things go wrong

Installing and Using Marine AIS

Seminar will include demonstration of installing and using AIS with Open CPN Navigation Software on a limited budget.

What is AIS?

AIS integrated with a chartplotter or multi-display, with overlaid electronic chart data, displays an icon for every significant ship within VHF radio range, each with a velocity vector (showing that vessel’s speed and heading). Each ship icon reflects the actual size of the ship, with positions accurate to GPS precision. By “clicking” on a ship mark, you can learn the ship’s name, course and speed, classification, call sign, MMSI, and other information. Maneuvering information, closest point of approach (CPA), time to closest point of approach (TCPA) and other navigation data is also available. Information previously visible only to the Vessel Traffic Service is now available to every AIS-equipped vessel.

The Automatic Identification System is a digital VHF radio-based transponder system that can prevent collisions, and can protect your boat from being run down by a huge, fast moving ship. It’s like digital radar with precise position information. AIS uses GPS, VHF radio and sophisticated digital processing to automatically communicate between vessels without any operator interaction.

ADVANCED POWERBOAT HANDLING

When the weather deteriorates without warning, rest easy knowing you can handle your boat under adverse conditions.  You'll learn techniques to handle your boat based on hull type, boat trim and wave types.  Discover how to recover from grounding and how to dock in challenging conditions. You’ll understand what the “old timers” and professionals have learned the hard way.  This seminar gets you there faster, and with confidence.  Then, on the water you can visualize your actions and execute them easily. The full-color book Powerboat Handling Illustrated is an optional reference.

 What's Included?

·         How boats move in close quarters

·         Departing the dock

·         Docking under challenging conditions

·         How your boat behaves in waves

·         Wave patterns and conditions

·         Trimming the boat

·         Handling waves

·         Dealing with severe waves

·         Handling running aground

·         Rounding a bend

 MAN OVERBOARD

People fall overboard, especially in rough weather and high seas.  Discover how to equip and maneuver your boat to retrieve someone in the water.  Essential for all boaters, this seminar teaches you what to do if you fall overboard, as well as how to retrieve someone else. The seminar includes a full color Student Guide for the seminar.

What's Included?

·         How to recover a crewmember who has fallen overboard

·         Vessel set-up and man overboard (MOB) equipment

·         Maneuvering to keep the rescuer close to the person in the water

·         Methods of recovering the person overboard

MASTERING THE RULES OF THE ROAD

Don't leave the dock without knowing the rules of the road.  This seminar simplifies the sometimes complex U.S. Inland Rules and International Rules, or COLREGS, for the recreational boater. Through examples, you'll discover how to avoid collisions in various situations, the differences between power and sailboat rules, and the special rules for fishing vessel. This seminar includes Student Notes with slides. The downloadable US Coast Guard's Navigation Rules and Regulations Handbook is the supporting text. This seminar is also a starting point for study preparation for the USCG License examination.

What’s Included?

·         Avoiding collisions

·         Meeting head on

·         Crossing

·         Overtaking

·         Sailing vessels

·         Vessel responsibilities

·         Fishing vessels

·         Lights and shapes on vessels

·         Sounds signals

·         Restricted visibility

·         Distress signals

HOW TO USE A CHART

What's Included?

·        What charts show navigators above the water
·         Chart features
·         Chart scales
·         What charts show navigators below the water
·         Aids to navigation
·         Latitude and longitude
·        
Planning your course
·         What’s in your way