• Nautical Almanacs in PDF Format
  http://www.navsoft.com/downloads.html
  
  
• 2010 Nautical Almanac
  http://navsoft.com/2010_Nautical_Almanac.pdf
  
  
• Sight Corrections
  http://navsoft.com/Sight_Corrections.pdf
  
  
• Increments and Corrections
  http://navsoft.com/Increments_and_Corrections.pdf

• Introduction to Boating:types of power boats; sailboats; outboards; paddle boats; houseboats;different uses of boats; various power boating engines; jet drives;family boating basics.
• Boating Law:boat registration; boating regulation; hull identification number;required boat safety equipment; operating safely and reportingaccidents; protecting the marine environment; Federal boat law; stateboating laws; personal watercraft requirements.
• Boat Safety Equipment:personal flotation devices ("life jackets"); fire extinguishers;sound-producing devices; visual-distress signals; dock lines and rope;first aid kit; anchors and anchor lines; other boating safetyequipment.
• Safe Boating:bow riding; alcohol and drug abuse; entering, loading, and trimming aboat; fueling portable and permanent tanks; steering with a tiller anda wheel; docking, undocking and mooring; knots; filing a float plan;checking equipment, fuel, weather and tides; using charts; choosing andusing an anchor; safe PWC handling; general water safety.
• Navigation:the U.S. Aids to Navigation system; types of buoys and beacons;navigation rules (sometimes referred to as right-of-way rules);avoiding collisions; sound signals; PWC "tunnel vision."
• Boating Problems:hypothermia; boating accidents and rescues; man overboard recovery;capsizing; running aground; river hazards; strainers: emergency radiocalls; engine problems; equipment failures; carbon monoxide (CO); otherboating and PWC problems.
• Trailering, Storing and Protecting Your Boat:types of trailers; trailer brakes, lights, hitches, tires, andbearings; loading, balancing, and towing (and backing) a trailer; boatlaunching and retrieving; boat storage and theft protection; launching,retrieving and storing a PWC.
• Hunting and Fishing, Water-skiing and River Boating:carrying hunting gear and weapons in a boat; fishing from a boat;water-skiing safety guidelines and hand signals; water-skiing with aPWC; navigating rivers, and other boating tips.

Sign up now for any or all of the following Seminars open to the public.  Registration is limited to only 10 students for each Seminar.  All classes will be held at Rockland Yacht Club, 7-9 PM on the following Wednesdays.

Anchoring :  Wed. August 12, 2009 7-9 PM  

This seminar covers selection of anchor, rode and components; anchor selection for sea conditions and bottom characteristics; deployment and recovery of anchors. It also includes tables for sizing an anchor and components, and information for determining loads under various conditions. The kit includes the Anchoring Quick Guide and Student Notes with copies of the slides.

Cost $25, limited to 10 registrants

Trailering Your Boat : Wed.  Aug. 19, 2009  7-9 PM
Trailering Your Boat explains how to select tow vehicles, hitches, and trailers. It also explains how to safely and securely trailer your boat, launch and retrieve it, and how to operate and maintain your trailering equipment. The kit comes with the McGraw-Hill published USPS book Trailering your Boat by Bruce Smith.

Cost $25, limited to 10 registrants

GPS Seminar,  Aug. 26: 

If you have a hand held GPS receiver and are confused about some of the functions provided, this is the course for you! This 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. Cost $25, limited to 25 registrants

To confirm registration, please contact Key Stage, Squadron Education Officer via email:  khstage@yahoo.com, or 207 236 6083

The Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris contains a strip of brass that segments the sanctuary on a perfect north-south axis. It was an ancient sundial of sorts. The sun's rays, shining through the oculus on the south wall, moved farther down the line every day, indication the passage of time, from solstice to solstice.

The north-south stripe had been known as the Rose Line. For centuries, the symbol of the Rose had been associated with maps and guiding souls in the proper direction. The Compass Rose - drawn on almost every map – indicated North, East, South and West. Originally known as the Wind Rose, it denoted the directions of the thirty-two winds, blowing from the directions of eight major winds, eight half-winds and sixteen quarter-winds. When diagrammed inside a circle, these thirty-two points of the compass perfectly resembled a traditional thirty-two petal rose bloom. To this day, the fundamental navigational tool is still known as a Compass Rose, its northernmost direction still marked by an arrowhead ... or, more commonly, the symbol of the fleur-de-lis.

On a globe, a Rose Line - also called a meridian or longitude - was an imaginary line drawn from the North Pole to the South Pole. There were, of course, an infinite number of Rose Lines because every point on the globe could have a longitude drawn through it connecting north and south poles. The question for early navigators was which of these lines would be called the Rose Line - the zero longitude - the line from which all other longitudes on earth would be measured.

Long before the establishment of Greenwich as the prime meridian, the zero longitude of the entire world had passed directly through Paris, and through the Church of Saint-Sulpice. The brass marker in Saint-Sulpice is a memorial to the world's first prime meridian and although Greenwich stripped Paris of the honor in 1888, the original Rose Line is still visible today.

Seamanship (S)

Building on the basics taught in the public boating course, Seamanship is the recommended first course for new members, both power boaters and sailors. Students learn practical marlinespike, navigation rules, hull design and performance, responsibilities of the skipper, boat care, operating a boat under normal and abnormal conditions, what to do in various emergencies and weather conditions, nautical customs and common courtesy on the water. This course provides a needed introduction to the USPS Educational Program and a strong foundation for members going on to other Advanced Grades courses and/or Cruise Planning or Sail. The one-bar insignia is shown on the right below.

Piloting (P)

Piloting is the first of the navigational classes focusing on techniques for piloting a boat in coastal and inland conditions. The course emphasizes planning and checking along with the use of GPS for determining position, and introduces digital charting along with traditional charting, compass and dead reckoning skills. Plotting, labeling, use of the compass, aids to navigation and a host of related topics are included in this all-new approach to coastal and inland piloting. The insignia is shown on the right.

Note: the insignia for completing both Seamanship and Piloting is two bars, as shown. The awardee is called a Pilot as well. The insignia is shown on the right.

Advanced Piloting (AP)

Advanced Piloting is the final part of the inland and coastal navigation series. This material continues to build on the base developed in Piloting, and includes practical use of additional electronic navigation systems and other advanced techniques for finding position. Among topics covered are: finding position using bearings and angles, collision avoidance using GPS and RADAR, what to do when the electronics fail, tides, currents and wind and their effect on piloting, and electronic navigation with GPS, chart plotters, RADAR, autopilots, etc. Application of course lectures takes place through practical in-class and at-home exercises. The insignia is shown on the right.

Junior Navigation (JN)

Junior Navigation is the first of a two-part program of study in offshore (open coast) navigation. It is designed as a practical, how-to course using GPS for offshore navigation with sun sight taking using a sextant as a backup technique. The more advanced techniques for other celestial bodies and sights are for study in the subsequent Navigation Course. JN subject matter includes: basic concepts of celestial navigation; how to use the mariner’s sextant to take sights of the sun; the importance and techniques of accurate time determination; use of the Nautical Almanac; how to reduce sights to establish lines of position (LOPs); and the use of GPS, special charts, plotting sheets and other navigational data for offshore positioning and passage planning. The insignia is shown on the right.

Navigation (N)

This is the second part of the study of offshore navigation. It further develops the student’s skills and understanding of celestial theory. The student is introduced to additional sight reduction techniques for bodies other than the sun. The student develops greater skill and precision in sight taking, positioning and the orderly methods of carrying on the day’s work of a navigator at sea. Of particular interest and importance is the navigation software that is explained and used in practices for planning and navigating in the offshore environment with the included software. Offshore navigation using minimal data and/or equipment, such as when on a disabled vessel or lifeboat is also studied. The insignia is shown on the right.

• When's the next course being held?
  Courses and Seminars are held only when there are enough interested students to fill a class.  Class sizes always vary, but typically once there are 5 or more interested folks, we'll go ahead and schedule one.
• When do I pay for a course?
  Once enough people have registered and a class has been scheduled, you'll receive notice from us that registration is open. 
  

Philosopher George Santayana (1863-1952) is credited with saying, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." The entire USPS® educational program is built on this foundation, and the Mid-Coast Sail & Power Squadron champions this program in the Penobscot and Muscongus Bay regions of Maine. Every course draws on the knowledge and experience of fellow boaters, our contemporary friends at the marina and the explorers of yore.

Mid-Coast Sail & Power Squadron instructors and class proctors enrich their teaching with "war stories," which are often tales of embarrassing goofs. High-profile tragedies offer vital lessons no matter how many years we've been boating.

The classroom is the best of all learning venues, where students and instructors both benefit from shared questions and experiences. However, the opportunities are there only if you take advantage of them. Thanks to the USPS® designed curriculum and the tireless efforts of Squadron members who volunteer their time and experiences in promulgating this educational quest, the Mid-Coast Sail & Power Squadron offers an array of excellent courses that are unparalleled in recreational boating. As a community service, the Squadron offers core level courses to the public; to those who have boats, are thinking about getting boats, or are just interested in boating. Many of these students subsequently seek Squadron membership which in turn provides them access to a vast array of USPS® advanced-grade and elective courses.

Santayana's dictum gives us a two-ingredient recipe for member involvement in USPS® and Mid-Coast Sail & Power Squadron education--to study as a student and to study and teach as an instructor or proctor. As many Squadron members have discovered, you can learn a lot from taking a course, but if you can teach it, it is yours forever!