Vancouver Squadron will not be offering this course this season.

Completion of the the Seamanship course, or an approved equivalent, is a prerequisite for this course

Advanced Piloting takes the boater out of the realm of conning and visual piloting to coastal cruising out of sight of land, navigating in tidal waters, dealing with current, standing clear of danger, and determining position by visual observation, or with the use of modern electronic equipment. It stresses competance and accuracy in chartwork to standards recognized by the marine industry.

While the advent of electronic equipment has made piloting easier, there is still an urgent need to use the traditional tools of plotting to check position, calibrate or check all piloting or navigtional equipment, and to be able to naigate a vessel in case of equipment or power failure.

This course will introduce a new term, "waypoint navigation." Waypoints are pre-selected geographical locations which the pilot or navigator uses to plan a safe route for a cruise. They may be visible landmarks, aids to navigation, or any pre-selected geographical location identified by latitude and longitude coordinates.

The Advanced Piloting Course expands on elements of Boating and Piloting. It demands greater accuracy in positioning and plotting exercises, strict adherence to standardized labelling, and ability to use and interpolate tables of various kinds. It is a challenge, but one the student will find is worthwhile and enjoyable.

Course Outline

1. Charts
   • Chart types and scales
   • IALA Maritime Buoyage System
   • Extended cruising considerations
   • Digital Charts
2. Electronic Navigation Tools
   • Electronic navigation systems
   • Chartplotter applications and features
   • Computer navigation applications and features
   • Other hardware supporting navigation applications
   • GPS
   • Radar
   • AIS
   • Depth sounders and other sensors
   • Autopilots
   • VHF radio and Digital Selective Calling
3. Fixes
   • Dead Reckoning
   • Fixes by Ranges and Bearings
   • Radar Fixes
   • RADAR
4. Avoidance Techniques
   • Pre-qualifying a boating area
   • Danger bearings and circles
   • Collision bearings
   • Techniques using GPS or Radar
5. Positioning techniques
   • Plotting position
   • Using GPS on the water
   • Using Radar on the water
   • Navigating in wind and waves
6. Tides
   • Causes of Tides
   • Tidal Datum, Measurement and Tides
   • Canadian Tide Tables
   • Use of the Tide Tables
   • U.S. Tide Tables
7. Working with tidal currents
   • Canadian Current Tables
   • Current Solutions
   • Duration of Slack
   • Velocity of Current at any Time
   • U.S. Current Tables
8. Plotting with wind and currents
   • Understanding vectors
   • Determine current set and drift
   • Determine course to steer
   • Using GPS to stay on course