Ann Arbor Sail and Power Squadron
a unit of the United States Power Squadrons®
Lat. 42°17.1' N, Long. 83°48.2' W
Education is an integral part of Power Squadron membership. The educational opportunities that are available provide an invaluable source of knowledge and an unequaled chance to make new friends and acquaintances among your fellow classmates and instructors.
Power Squadron classes are divided into two groupings: Advanced Grades and Elective Courses. The Advanced Grades are a progressive course of study in seamanship, piloting, and navigation and are designed to develop and enhance your skills in boating. They build a cumulative knowledge base and are generally taken in the order of Seamanship, Piloting, Advanced Piloting, Junior Navigation, and Navigation.
The Elective Courses teach various aspects of the boating experience and include: Cruise Planning, Engine Maintenance, Instructor Qualification, Marine Electronics, Sail, and Weather. Classes are generally held in the non-boating months during the evenings at various locations.
USPS® provides basic boating education to the public with no charge for instruction. Local squadrons may teach America's Boating Course or Boat Smart.
Squadrons may also follow a Boat Smart or America's Boating Course with a Chart Smart course to provide charting and plotting information not covered in those two courses. Locate a course to be taught near you soon.
Building on the basics taught in the USPS Boating courses, 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 the Elective Courses, Cruise Planning and Basic Sail.
Marine Navigation is the first course in the sequence of USPS courses on navigation, covering the basics of coastal and inland navigation.
This course focuses on navigation as it is done on recreational boats today and embraces GPS as a primary navigation tool while covering
enough of traditional techniques so the student will be able to find his/her way even if their GPS fails.
The course includes many in-class exercises, developing the student's skills through hands-on practice and learning.
Ten classes of two hours each normally are scheduled for presentation of this course. In addition the students have seven days
to complete the open book exam.
Topics covered include:
Advanced Marine Navigation (currently offered as Advanced Piloting) is the second in the sequence of USPS courses on navigation.
It continues to build coastal and inland navigation skill, allowing the student to take on more challenging conditions — unfamiliar waters,
limited visibility, and extended cruises. GPS is embraced as a primary navigation tool while adding radar, chart plotters, and other electronic navigation tools.
As with Marine Navigation (currently offered as Piloting), the course includes many in-class exercises, advancing the student's skills through hands-on practice
and learning. Ten classes of two hours each normally are scheduled for presentation of this course. In addition the students have seven days to complete
the open book exam.
Topics covered include:
Offshore Navigation (currently offered as Junior Navigation) is the first of a two-part program of study in offshore navigation,
followed by the Celestial Navigation course (currently offered as Navigation). It is designed as a practical "how to" course.
Subject matter includes:
After Offshore Navigation (currently offered as Junior Navigation), this course is the second part of the study of offshore navigation,
further developing the student's understanding of celestial navigation theory. This Celestial Navigation course deals with learning celestial
positioning using other bodies, in addition to positioning using the sun (covered in the Junior Navigation course).
This course also deals with electronic software tools that can be used to plan and execute an offshore voyage. You will first learn to reduce
these sights by the Law of Cosines method. Later in the course, you will learn an additional method of sight reduction, the Nautical Almanac Sight Reduction (NASR) method.
You will also learn about sight planning techniques. With that knowledge, you will have the tools to take sights and complete your Navigation Sight Folder.
The course includes a chapter on using a software-based voyage planning tool and a navigation program.
The final chapter of the course contains a Practice Cruise that ties the separate elements of the course together.
This course is 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: planning the voyage, financing the voyage, equipping the boat, crew selection, provisioning, voyage management, navigation planning, weather, communications, entering and clearing foreign and domestic ports, anchors and anchoring, emergencies afloat, medical emergencies and security.
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 become more self-reliant afloat, trouble diagnosis and temporary remedies are emphasized along with safety measures. The course is intended to make you a more intelligent and more resourceful boat engine operator.
The development of practical skills and methods in 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 studied and the students is afforded the opportunity to become familiar with their best use.
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, GPS, 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 module provides a thorough study of the terminology of sailing, as well as information on the following subjects: sailboat rigs, sail plans, boat design, and hull types, sails, standing rigging, running rigging, wind, preparing to sail, sailing upwind, sailing downwind, docking and anchoring, marlinespike seamanship, and navigation rules.
This course module provides information on the following subjects: wind forces, stability, balance, sail shape, turning the rig, steering and helmsmanship, spinnaker handling, heavy weather sailing, storm conditions, sailing safety, sailboat racing, race management, and navigation rules.
Note: Both Basic Sail and Advanced Sail must be successfully completed before credit for completion of the Elective Grade of Sail is granted.
Awareness of weather phenomena, how to read the weather map and the sky, and understand and anticipate weather developments for more pleasurable boating are the objectives of this course. Subjects studied include: characteristics and structure of the atmosphere, what weather is and its basic causes, normal development and movement of weather over the earth, and the factors considered in weather forecasting. Observations that the skipper can make afloat include both instrumental and visual: cloud sequences and the weather they predict; air masses, fronts, storms, and fog, and the use of radio and television weather broadcasts. Throughout the course 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.
The Operations Training course offers members the opportunity to learn about the workings of USPS, including the relationship among squadrons, districts, and the national organization. It includes insight into squadron education, training, organization, staffing, planning, communications and USPS history and protocol.
