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Bellevue Sail and Power
Squadron
Boating is fun ... we'll show you how |
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Advanced Grades & Elective Courses
These courses are only available to members of the USPS. To join the USPS, contact our Membership Chair. Click here to register online for an upcoming course. If you have any questions, contact our Advanced Grades and Electives Chair.
USPS members are given the opportunity to further their safe boating education through completion of Advanced Grades and Elective Courses. The Advanced Grades are a series of navigational courses, which must be taken in sequence. The highest level course completed determines a member's grade. The Elective Courses are a wide discipline of courses offered as part of the instructed course curriculum that covers topics other than navigation. Elective Courses may be taken in any order. All Advanced Grades and Elective Courses are instructed by fellow USPS members in a classroom environment. Any member achieving the grade of Advanced Pilot or higher and completing at least three Elective Courses is recognized with the Educational Proficiency Award. Any member achieving the grade of Navigator and completing all Elective Courses is recognized with the Educational Achievement Award. Members receiving the Educational Achievement Award are frequently referred to as 'Senior Navigator'. USPS members can also further their education by completing any of 19 Supplemental Programs (also called Learning Guides). These are self-study courses, but may be offered as instructor led courses if there is enough interest and an instructor can be identified. Members can contact the Squadron Educational Officer for more information. These courses are also available to members of the public by contacting the USPS national offices at 1-888-FOR-USPS.
Building on the basics taught in the USPS Public Boating Course or BoatSmart, Seamanship is the recommended first course for new members, both powerboaters and sailors. The student learns 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 an introduction to the USPS educational program and a strong foundation for the other Advanced Grades courses and/or Cruise Planning and Sail. This course usually meets on Mondays from 7pm-9pm and runs 8 weeks. Prerequisites: None Piloting is the first of a two-part program of study of inland and coastal navigation. Focus is on the fundamentals of basic piloting - keeping track of your movements on the water, determining where you are at any given moment, and laying out a course to your planned destination. Included are a thorough study of charts and their use, aids to navigation, mariner's compass, variation, bearings, dead reckoning, and developing skill at plotting and labeling. This course usually meets on Mondays from 6pm-9pm and runs 7 weeks. Prerequisites: None Advanced Piloting is the second part of the study of inland and coastal navigation, with a strong emphasis on the latter. The student learns many of the more advanced techniques and is introduced to the phenomena of tides and tidal currents and their impact on piloting. Also covered are the simple use of the marine sextant and various modern electronic navigation systems for positioning and course planning. This course usually meets on Mondays from 7pm-9pm and runs 9 weeks. Prerequisites: Piloting Junior Navigation is the first of a two-part program of study in offshore (open ocean) navigation. It is designed as a practical "how to" course leaving the theoretical and more advanced techniques for the Navigation course. The subject matter includes the following:
This course usually meets on Mondays from 7pm-9pm and runs 12 weeks. Prerequisites: Piloting and Advanced Piloting This is the second part of the study of offshore navigation. It further develops the student's understanding of celestial navigation theory and essential shortcut emergency methods. The student is introduced to additional sight reduction techniques and develops greater skill and precision in sight taking, positioning, and orderly methods of carrying on the day's work of navigation at sea. Of particular interest and importance is the study of offshore navigation using minimal data and or equipment, such as when on a disabled vessel or lifeboat. This course usually meets on Mondays from 7pm-9pm and runs 26
weeks. Prerequisites: Piloting, Advanced Piloting, and Junior Navigation
This course focuses on preparation for a cruise, whether the cruise is for a day, a week, a month, or longer. Whether you are going to cruise on rivers, lakes, the coasts, or across the oceans, very valuable information is provided by those who have been there. The topics discussed are:
This course usually meets
on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm and runs 7 weeks. This course covers the general construction, operating principles, maintenance and repair of marine gasoline and diesel engines, cooling, electrical, fuel, and lubricating systems and associated propulsion components - clutches, shafting, and propellers. Since one of the major objectives of the course is to help the student to become more self-reliant afloat, trouble diagnosis and temporary remedies are emphasized along with safety measures. The course is not intended to produce trained mechanics but rather more intelligent and more resourceful boat engine operators. This course usually meets on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm and runs 11
weeks. The development of practical skills and methods for preparing for both classroom and meeting presentations are the objectives of this unique course. The course includes practice assignments in preparation and delivery of presentations in the classroom including the use of visual and other aids. All types of aids that can enhance a presentation are studies and the student is afforded the opportunity to become familiar with their best use. Attendance at the majority of the class sessions is mandatory before taking the examination. This course usually meets on Thursdays from 7pm-9pm and runs 5-8
weeks dependent upon number of students. Essential knowledge about your boat's electrical and electronic systems is studied in this course. Proper wiring, grounding, electrolysis control, and batteries and their maintenance are included. Depth finders, marine radio telephones, radar, loran, omega, and advanced systems for electronic navigation are also studied. Information is provided on FCC requirements for station licensing and operator permits for radio telephone. This course usually meets on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm and runs 8
weeks. This course provides a thorough study of the terminology of sailing:
The dynamics of sailing are covered including:
This course usually meets on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm and runs 8 weeks. Awareness of weather phenomena, how to read a weather map and the sky, and understand and anticipate weather developments for more pleasurable boating are objectives of this course. Subjects include:
Observations that the skipper can make afloat include both instrumental and visual:
Throughout, the student is encouraged to make observations and predictions in order to gain experience in applying the principles taught and develop greater insight into weather phenomena. This course usually meets on Tuesdays from 7pm-9pm and runs 11 weeks.
Click here to register online for an upcoming course. If you have any questions, contact our Advanced Grades and Electives Chair.
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