Advanced Courses

In addition to the basic boating course, we teach a series of outstanding advanced courses.

These Advanced Grade courses are designed to be taken in sequence because each builds on skills taught in the previous course.

1. Boat Handling - Course proceeds from deciding which boat is for you to how to handle a fire or severe weather at sea. Advanced boat handling techniques and in-depth look at Rules of the Road. Includes a 4-hour on-water practice with USPS instructor.
2. Piloting - This course teaches the basics of coastal navigation including planning a cruise, plotting courses using paper charts, evaluating your position under way and digital chart work. Piloting course includes a 4-hour on-water session putting classroom work into practice.
3. Advanced Piloting - Continues where Piloting leaves off, with advanced coastal position plotting, including use of Radar to navigate. Practical Tides and Currents training for local waters. Combine chart plotter use with paper chart. Includes a 4-hour on-water practice.
4. Junior Navigation - Learn how to use a sextant to navigate offshore using celestial sun observations. Follows on from Advanced Piloting.
5. Navigation - Expands sextant observations to include celestial sphere. Intended for extended offshore cruisers.

More information on Advanced Grades Courses can be found on
the Unites States Power Squadrons® website
or by contacting our Squadron Education Officer for more information.

Elective Courses

Elective Courses are offered that cover separate and independent topics and may be taken in any order according to a student's interests and time.

1. Weather - Become a keener weather observer; see how observations have meaning in the context of the basic principles of meteorology. Learn how weather systems form, behave, move, and interact with one another. Learn where to find weather reports and forecasts on the internet. .
2. Engine Maintenance - This popular course takes the mystery out of the internal combustion engine. The class learns troubleshooting and routine maintenance of gas fueled, diesel and outboard engines. Perfect class for those moments out on the water when the engine overheats or refuses to start. Also perfect for saving hundreds of dollars of routine maintenance costs per year.

Marine Electronics - A series of three electronics courses.

Marine Electrical Systems Not sure what's behind your boat's electrical panel? Is your boat equipped to safely handle lightning strikes? This course will take the mystery out of marine electrical wiring.

Marine Communication Systems This second course in the series is designed to teach correct radio operating techniques plus give an introduction to the various functions inside a radio. It presents a solid foundation in VHF (the standard radio aboard recreational and commercial vessels), MF/HF and Satellite radio systems; to include both their proper operation and troubleshooting.

Electronic Navigation Course (Navigation Systems) This third course in the series gives a thorough look at GPS technology for chart plotters and desktop computers, and their use in advanced navigation. Includes look at apps for tablets and smart phones.

3. Cruise Planning - This is a new course designed to introduce the boater to all aspects of extended cruising. Adapted for local and Canadian waters. Includes safety equipment, provisioning, anchoring, electronics and navigation, chartering, border crossing, emergencies and medical preparedness. This course will be taught by experienced USPS cruising skippers.
4. Sail - This classroom course covers all aspects of operating a sailing vessel, including vessel stability, theory of sail, sail trim and sail racing. This course will coincide with a practical keelboat sail course run by the Bellingham Bay Community Boating Center. People taking either course will get a price break on the corresponding course.
5. Instructor Development - Originally designed for USPS instructors, this course offers techniques for anyone interested in making public presentations and in conveying new concepts. Guided by experienced USPS instructors, the class member gains confidence through making presentations and evaluating those of fellow students.

More information on Elective Courses can be found on
the Unites States Power Squadrons® website
or by contacting our Squadron Education Officer for more information.

Seminars

The United Statues Power Squadrons® has produced over 20 seminars and webinars. New seminars are produced on a regular basis and we have selected to offer the 2-hour classroom sessions that are most applicable to Bellingham and the Salish Sea waters. These seminars include time for questions and discussions and participants are encouraged to share their experiences.

If you have any questions, please contact the Squadron Education Officer.

1. Sail Trim & Rig Tuning - Learn about mainsail and headsail trim and shaping, rig tuning for safety and efficiency and maximum cruising and racing performance. Learn how to set up your boat for interactions and dynamics among boat, wind and sails.
2. Anchoring - Are you the type to pass secluded bays and race for a marina berth? Learn the benefits and joys of anchoring. Learn anchoring techniques and practices that will let you sleep at night, and wake up where you went to sleep!
3. Basic Weather and Forecasting - Here in the North Puget Sound and San Juan Islands we are affected by weather systems developing far offshore. Learn the basics of weather forecasting and how to apply that knowledge when you are on board in our local waters.
4. Emergencies on Board - Being out in the San Juan’s means you cannot simply call “911” and get immediate help. This short course prepares you and your vessel for emergencies, either mechanical or medical, for you or for that other boat in the same bay. Learn how to enjoy cruising while ready to deal with the unexpected event that could ruin your cruise.
5. Marine RADAR - Excellent 2-hour seminar in which you really see how your RADAR functions and how to make adjustments for sea state, electronic clutter and rain showers. Learn how to differentiate between land masses and objects on the water, and how to avoid both.
6. Mariner’s Compass - Did you know that the mariner’s compass dates back 3000 years and has been used to circumnavigate the globe since then? Not all mariner’s compasses are the same. This most useful and overlooked instrument is different from the hiker’s compass and has some useful adjustments that you can make.
7. Mastering Rules of the Road - You know that there are rules for driving on a freeway. There are similar rules at sea, around the globe, recognized by all sea-going sovereign states. Learn how to adapt these rules to your vessel, and your waters. Learn which lights you should show, which horn blasts apply to you and how to avoid collisions. This course may save your life!
8. Partner in Command - The skipper falls ill, or overboard. Who needs to take charge and make the rescue? This course sets out commonsense ways to orient the skipper’s partner to the responsibilities of taking command and possibly saving lives.
9. Using the VHF and VHF/DSC Marine Radio - The marine VHF radio, in common use for many years, has recently joined the digital age. Learn how to make a distress call with the touch of one button, and be confident the Coast Guard will know your actual position. Learn how to locate a vessel in distress using your new VHF/DSC radio.

More information on Seminars can be found on
the Unites States Power Squadrons® website
or by contacting our Squadron Education Officer for more information.

On Demand

We want to keep you safe! Consider our On Demand Courses and Seminars.

Advanced and Elective Courses

Is your boating organization looking for a specific course? Do you have a number of people in your club or group wishing to learn about a certain topic?

If a course is not currently in our rotation of Advanced or Elective courses, we will bring that course to you. Experience the value and fun in taking boating courses within a group of like-minded boaters, in a relaxed setting.

Most courses take 8 weeks of 2 to 3 hours a week classroom time. However, we can tailor our courses to fit your particular needs. We will bring instructor and course materials to your venue to insure your organization gets the training it needs.

Seminars

The following seminar topics are contained within our full-length Advanced and Elective courses. However if demand is warranted, we will bring these individual 2-hour seminars to your yacht club or boating organization.

Basic Coastal Navigation

Boat Handling Under Power

Crossing Borders

Fuel and Boating

How to Use a Chart

Knots, Bends and Hitches

Man Overboard

Tides and Currents

Trailering Your Boat

Using GPS

If you have any questions, please contact the Squadron Education Officer.

On The Water Training

Download the Piloting OTW Guide

Going beyond land-based education in the classroom, Bellingham Sail and Power Squadron offers three different categories of on-the-water training to provide you with hands-on boating handling experiences.

1. Some USPS courses include an on-the-water component to reinforce the principles taught in the classroom. USPS certified-instructors, using a squadron member’s boat or the student’s boat, provide a 3-hour hands-on session, using their skills to demonstrate course topics, extending the classroom experience. Whether it is your first hands-on boating experience or a timely refresher, the on-the-water session is a fun and helpful learning tool. The session is optional and is not part of the course exam nor is it required to complete the course.
2. The USPS Boat Operator’s Certification Program certifies members at various levels of recreational boating proficiency. The certifications are recognized across the boating community, both domestically and internationally. There are four levels of Boat Operator Certification – Inland Navigator (IN), Coastal Navigator (CN), Advanced Coastal Navigator (ACN), and Offshore Navigator (ON) – each requiring different areas of knowledge and its own skill demonstrations. All candidates, as part of earning certification, participate in an on-the-water, hands-on demonstration of their boating skills.
3. Practical On the Water (POTW) training is an eight hour seminar with the perfect combination of classroom training followed by over four hours of extensive hands-on training in a high-speed boat furnished by the squadron. It provides an explanation of how your boat handles and why. Video clips help you visualize the maneuvers prior to your experiencing them on the water. It covers use of lines, departing the dock, operating in a fairway, pivoting, mooring, backing, docking, slalom course (slow speed and high speed), running a range, and an emergency quick stop. Time is also spent demonstrating techniques for rescue of a man-overboard. Each student receives a copy of Powerboat Handling Illustrated, a DVD, a Student Manual, and a certificate acknowledging his/her training.

For more information, contact:
Coordinator and Assistant Educational Officer Graham Hunter, AP-IN