Our Coastal Navigation course presents all the fundamental skills of navigation, with emphasis on the techniques most useful to the cruising sailor.
Course Topics
The following will be covered in the Coastal Navigation course:
- Levels of Navigation
- The Navigator’s Responsibility
- Tools
- Latitude/Longitude
- Compass Direction
- Chart Symbols
- Plotting a Course
- Dead Reckoning
- Compass Correction
- Aids to Navigation
- Lines of Position
- Bearing
- Range
- Depth as LOP
- Reliability of Fixes
- Danger & Turning Bearings
- GPS Fix, Waypoints
- Range & Bearing
- Correcting for Leeway
- Back Bearing
- Running Fix
- Tidal Forces
- Tide Tables
- Height of Tide at any Time
- Rule of 12ths
- Reversing Currents
- Current Tables
- Velocity of Current at any Time
- Current Charts
- Current Problems – set and drift
- Review of Current Problems
- GPS X-Track, SOG, COG
- Running Aground
- Woods Hole
- Analysis of weather forecasts
- Interpreting Navigation Lights
- Navigating in Fog
- Sound Signals
- VHF
- Binoculars
- Cruising Guides/Planning