Advanced Marine Navigation Course

Advanced Marine Navigation is a 10-session, in-depth course offered by the United States Power Squadrons®, America’s Boating Club, Beverly Marblehead Sail & Power Squadron.

Advanced Marine Navigation teaches today’s boaters how to use electronic navigation tools, including chartplotters with vector charts, to plan routes and navigate in more challenging conditions. Students use OpenCPN, a free charting program, to learn and complete the charting work for the course. The course also covers essential backup navigation skills for electronic failures, including dead reckoning and the use of tides and currents. The class features numerous in-class exercises that build skills through hands-on practice. The course is typically presented in ten two-hour classes, and students have seven days to complete the open-book exam. 

Topics include:

• Advanced positioning techniques, such as advancing a line of position to obtain a running fix

• Use of a variety of electronic tools: radar, depth sounders, autopilots, chart plotters, laptop computer software, and more

• Hazard avoidance techniques using electronics (e.g. avoidance waypoints or safety zones in GPS)

• Collision avoidance using radar, GPS, and AIS

• Working with the tide and current data to determine clearances, depth of water, and effects of current

• Piloting in various wind and current conditions

• Simple skills for checking that one is on course

• Putting it all together with a Practice Cruise

Date: Classes will be held on 10 Tuesdays starting September 22 2026
Time: 7 to 9 pm via Zoom
Cost:  $100 (Comes with free BMSPS 1 year single membership) 

*No prerequisite is required. However basic understanding of navigation would be beneficial 
**Laptop to install OPENCPN is required 

Online Pre-registration Required - https://www.usps.org/cgi-bin-nat/eddept/800/getregform.cgi?L-18694

For further information contact Patrick Pearce - patrickpearce@comcast.net