Essential Navigation and Seamanship Course
An introduction to navigation and safety awareness for new, inexperienced or rusty skippers and crew.
This course is for anyone new to sailing, motor boating including RIBs and other small powerboats, sea angling and diving as well as experienced dinghy and keelboat sailors and inshore racers.
This course is the perfect introduction or refresher for anyone going afloat on inshore waters, and a stepping stone to the more in-depth Day Skipper shorebased course.
It also complements our on-the-water training such as the Intermediate Powerboat, Start Yachting, Helmsman or Day Skipper courses.
You will receive a course pack which includes a chart, plotter, course handbook, exercises and an electronic chart plotter CD.
This is a highly practical course with lots of opportunities foryou to put your new found knowledge into practice using the exercises provided.
The course is taught over 16 hours with exercises to complete along the way. It can be covered as 3 evening sessions or over two full days.
BASIC NAVIGATION and SAFETY COURSE SYLLABUS
The Basic Navigation and Safety course provides an introduction to the basic skills required before taking a small boat to sea or taking an active part in running a boat. The syllabus content is shown below.
1 Charts, publications and terms
• Basic Terms • Chart overview • Introduction to chart datum and depths
2 Buoyage
• Lateral buoys • Cardinal buoys •Where to find information
3 Navigation
• Plotting a position • Measuring distance and bearing • Position fix • Heading
4 Safety
• Personal and boat safety equipment • Safety procedures and briefing • Communications • Engines checks
• Rescue procedures
5 Anchoring
• Where to anchor •How to anchor
6 Tides
• Tidal streams • Tidal heights
7 Electronic navigation
• GPS terms • GPS use •Using waypoints
8 Rules of the road
• Risk of collision • Who gives way
9 Weather forecasts
• Sources of forecast • Terms used in forecast • Sea state
10 Pilotage
• Harbour information • Transits • Pilotage plan
11 Passage planning
• SOLAS V requirements • Pre planning • Chart choice