Course Overview
This 5-day intensive program provides deck officers, maritime cadets, and recreational boaters with essential coastal navigation skills, COLREGs knowledge, and practical chart work techniques. Participants will gain hands-on experience in position fixing, passage planning, and collision avoidance using both traditional and electronic navigation methods.
Course Objectives
Upon completion, participants will be able to:
- Apply COLREGs (Rules of the Road) in real-world scenarios
- Plot and maintain positions using coastal navigation techniques
- Interpret nautical charts (symbols, soundings, dangers)
- Calculate tides and currents for safe navigation
- Conduct passage planning with safety considerations
- Use parallel indexing for coastal navigation
- Perform radar plotting for collision avoidance
- Transition between paper and electronic charts
Who Should Attend
This course is essential for:
- Deck Officer Cadets
- Recreational Skippers
- Fishing Vessel Operators
- Marine Surveyors
- Harbor Pilots (entry-level)
- Superyacht Crew
- Maritime Academy Students
Course Modules
Module 1: Nautical Chart Fundamentals
- Chart scales and projections (Mercator)
- IHO symbols and abbreviations
- Datums (WGS84, local) and their importance
- Chart corrections and updates
Module 2: Coastal Navigation Techniques
- Position fixing (visual bearings, transits)
- Running fixes and estimated positions
- Use of nautical publications (tide tables, sailing directions)
- Clearing bearings and danger bearings
Module 3: Tides & Currents
- Tide calculations (rule of twelfths)
- Tidal stream atlas interpretation
- Effect of tides on under-keel clearance
- Secondary port calculations
Module 4: COLREGs (Rules of the Road)
- Lights, shapes, and sound signals
- Crossing, overtaking, and head-on situations
- Restricted visibility procedures
- Fishing vessel and TSS considerations
Module 5: Passage Planning
- SOLAS requirements for voyage planning
- No-go areas and contingency planning
- Fuel calculations and waypoint selection
- Electronic vs. paper chart integration
Module 6: Radar Navigation
- Radar plotting techniques (manual and ARPA)
- Parallel indexing methods
- Blind sectors and radar limitations
- Radar/visual correlation
Module 7: Electronic Navigation
- ECDIS/ECS familiarization
- GNSS position accuracy considerations
- AIS target analysis
- Backup systems importance