Intermediate Coastal Navigation

BUILDING ON BASIC COASTAL NAVIGATION, INTERMEDIATE COASTAL NAVIGATION PROVIDES ADDITIONAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS NEEDED BY SKIPPERS THAT WISH TO VENTURE BEYOND FAMILIAR WATERS.

Intermediate Coastal Navigation provides more indepth coverage of topics such as tides and currents, more advanced position determination, and other topics that are beyond the scope of Basic Coastal Navigation.

Our Intermediate course covers all the requirements defined in Sail Canada’s Intermediate Coastal Navigation Standard. Graduates of our course are certified according to this standard, which is a prerequisite for Advanced Coastal Cruising, and for going on to learn more in-depth knowledge and skills in Advanced Coastal Navigation.

In addition, however, LearnToCruiseOnline’s module goes beyond the standard to provide more in-depth coverage of various aspects of marine electronics, including use of AIS, chart-plotters, and mobile devices.

Approach and Materials

Our approach to Coastal Navigation supports aspiring navigators through a unique combination of online and traditional learning / instructing approaches. Course materials include:
  • A detailed text and accompanying exercises, authored by Jamie Gordon, one of Canada’s leading experts in cruising and navigation (downloadable in PDF form)
  • A set of modular screencasts on each topic, using a presentation with voice-over commentary to explain and illustrate key concepts and techniques. These screencasts can be viewed as often as desired.
  • Email and skype access to the course instructors the ability to obtain personalized support as required
  • We provide an online practice exam that participants can take to prepare themselves for the real exam (coming soon)
  • The Sail Canada Intermediate Coastal Navigation exam. Arrangements can be made for you to complete the exam within a defined time period and send it to us for marking
  • A personal post-exam interview will provide participants with an opportunity to review their personal exam results and gain further clarification on any questions they had difficulty with.
  • After completing the course, participants will have ongoing access to the Intermediate Coastal Navigation course material for update and review purposes.
  • While you likely already have the required navigation tools, at the outset of the course, participants will be given guidance on how to obtain basic navigation tools (dividers, parallel rules or plotter), required publications, and the teaching charts used in the course.

Benefits of our unique course design

Our course design enables you to complete the course based on your own schedule and availability.
  • In contrast to in-person courses, you don’t have to travel to be in a particular geographic location, and have the flexibility to work through the course material at times that meet your schedule.
  • A benefit of in-person courses is interaction with instructors. We offer email and Skype contact with instructors to respond to any challenges you encounter along the way
  • Access to a unique online practice exam that accurately simulates the experience of writing the official Sail Canada exam
  • Subscribers to any course will have on-going access to course materials, even beyond the timeframe of the specific course they participate in. This will enable course participants to become updated on any future additions or changes in the course material, and to refresh their knowledge in future, for instance, while preparing for a cruise.

Come learn with us.

Course materials include:

 

  • A detailed text and accompanying exercises, authored by Jamie Gordon, one of Canada’s leading experts in cruising and navigation (downloadable in PDF form) New Edition January 2018

  • A set of modular screencasts on each topic, using a presentation with voice-over commentary to explain and illustrate key concepts and techniques. These screencasts can be viewed as often as desired.

  • Periodic web-conferences will highlight key topics and and provide course participants with an opportunity to obtain additional explanations of any areas they have not yet completely grasped

  • Access to a participants’ forum and email and skype access to the course instructors provides interaction with colleagues and the ability to get personalized support as required

  • We provide an online mock exam that participants can take to prepare themselves for the real exam.

  • The Sail Canada Intermediate Coastal Navigation exam. Arrangements can be made for you to complete the exam within a defined time period and mail it to us for marking

  • A final web-conference will provide participants with an opportunity to review their personal exam results and gain further clarification on any questions they had difficulty with.

  • After completing the course, participants will have ongoing access to the Basic Coastal Navigation course material for update and review purposes.

Course Outline

The course is organized in 4 sessions, each of which is intended to be completed in a two-week period. (Click each session title for a detailed listing of topics covered.)

Session 1:

Topic 1.1 Introduction
Topic 1.2 Navigator’s responsibilities revisited
Topic 1.3 COLREGS rules 5, 6, 10 and 19
Topic 1.4 Navigation system revisited
*Topic 1.5 Overview of AIS
Topic 1.6 Homework

Session 2:

Topic 2.1 Introduction
Topic 2.2 Session 1 Review
Topic 2.3 Intermediate Position Determination Overview
Topic 2.4 Checking deviation
Topic 2.5 Ship’s log revisited
Topic 2.6 Running Fix
Topic 2.7 Other ways of obtaining a LOP
Topic 2.8 Plotting Currents
Topic 2.9 Leeway
Topic 2.10 Homework

Session 3:

Topic 3.1 Introduction
Topic 3.2 Session 2 Review
Topic 3.3 Intermediate Tides and Currents: overview
Topic 3.4 Tides revisited
Topic 3.5 Currents revisited
Topic 3.6 Chart-embedded current information
Topic 3.7 Current atlas
Topic 3.8 Intermediate GPS
*Topic 3.9 Overview of boat networks
*Topic 3.10 Using Chartplotters
*Topic 3.11 Multifunction devices
*Topic 3.12 Other navigation electronics
Topic 3.13 Homework

Session 4:

Topic 4.1 Introduction
Topic 4.2 Session 3 Review
Topic 4.3 Passage and pilotage planning overview
Topic 4.4 Passage plan
Topic 4.5 Pilotage plan
Topic 4.6 Checking instrument accuracy
*Topic 4.7 Using mobile devices and apps for navigation overview
*Topic 4.8 Navigation apps
*Topic 4.9 Weather apps
*Topic 4.10 Instruments
*Topic 4.11 Other apps
Topic 4.12 Exam preparation

Session 5:

Online Practice Exam

Session 6:

Exam preview, preparation, and administration

Session 7:

Exam take-up

Price of the course is $200 +HST

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