Coastal Navigation | Online Course

(Note this is a real chart-based course. You will need the Long Island Sound chart and your own plotting tools. The chart you can buy online for approximately $15. If you have your own plotting tools you can use those. Alternatively, you can download the chart yourself for free and take it to a print store or you can get the full navigation pack ($39) from Amazon which contains the chart, a rotating protractor-plotter, and a set of compass dividers. Full details are listed in the course. 

If you are considering this course you should also consider our Electronic Navigation course. Both courses combined provide fundamental sailing navigation while also giving you knowledge of how to best use today's hi-tech tools. Electronic Navigation is FREE with the Bareboat Charter Master Sailboat Bundle and Captain Bundle of courses, or only $14 with the Bareboat Charter Master Powerboat Bundle.

This Coastal Navigation Course is quite possibly one of the best values on the Internet. For just $39, you will fully understand the fundamentals of Coastal Navigation and be able to practically apply them wherever you go. The Course will take you about 10 hours to complete including the test. Upon completion, you will immediately receive the NauticEd Coastal Navigation Proficiency Certificate.

Register for the NauticEd Coastal Navigation Course now and impress your friends with your knowledge!

Foreword by Captain Grant Headifen. Enough years ago, so that this story can be attributed to youth rather than present-day embarrassment, we set off from St. Bart's in the Caribbean to St. Eustatius. While most islands in the Caribbean can be navigated by a line of sight, with this passage, St Eustatius is over the horizon so proper navigation techniques were required.

This was my first Chartering experience and as Captain, I was responsible for 6 crewmembers' lives and, of course, the vessel. A quick check of the charts revealed that St Eustatius was slightly west of a due south heading and was about 25 miles away - at 6 knots that would take us about 4 and a bit hours. Simple enough. Up anchor and hoist sails. Yet three times in 1/2 an hour increments something inside me was questioning my rudimentary assessment of the navigation ease. Finally, on the third visit to the charts, I spotted the compass rose and thus the source of my anxiety. At that position on the planet, the difference between the chart's definition of north and the compass reading of north is different by nearly 15 degrees.

Whoops! A simple but amateurish mistake. Time to get serious. Now more skillful techniques had to be called upon. A new and real position had to be calculated based on the 1.5 hours of incorrect heading and the average maintained speed. Then a new plot direction had to be established for St. Eustatius based on our newly determined position. To double confirm that newly determined position I triangulated our position by taking compass shots off various islands. Back on track, we thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our vacation with a lesson never to be forgotten!

Such amateurish mistakes can lead to serious consequences. What if there had been a reef on our mistaken course? Get the picture?

Captain Ed Mapes' Coastal Navigation Course, as you'll discover, is one of those "oh durh could have had a V8" moments because of his reduction of the seemingly intimidating world of marine navigation to an exciting understanding and confidence in your knowledge to now - Navigate. He has turned intimidation to inclination. Inclination to get out and really practice and use your new skills.

You'll leave this Coastal Navigation Course with an understanding of:

• The Charts and how to use navigation tools
• True north and magnetic north - and variation and deviation
• Determining your position using various techniques such as dead reckoning, running fixes, and triangulation
• What to do with your GPS position to get you to your destination
• Set and drift from wind, tides, and currents
• How to simply determine your heading based on Set and Drift

You'll then run through real exercises to build your confidence. In the first Module, we'll introduce you to Landfall Navigation where you can mail order globally ($10 +S&H) a practice chart for the confidence-building exercises and the test. The test grades are in real-time - so that once you've passed - you'll have your Navigation Certification in hand immediately.

Register for the NauticEd Coastal Navigation Course now and as an incredibly FUN BONUS, we'll give you a GPS treasure hunt formula that you can use to set up in your neighborhood park for an enjoyable family and friends navigation picnic. Remember, with NauticEd, you can return as many times as you like to brush up on your navigation skills for FREE.

There are possibly only a few things more fun than scooting along the ocean taking compass sights off islands using dead reckoning and running fix skills to determine your position and then calculating your ETA. One of those things is actually meeting your ETA, then celebrating with a cold drink and your feet in the sand.

Please enjoy Captain Ed Mapes' Coastal Navigation Course. As with all NauticEd online sailing and powerboating lessons, if you don't feel as though you received the value for this Coastal Navigation course, then we'll simply refund your $39 investment back to you. With thousands of happy NauticEd students, however, we doubt that will happen.

If you still have questions about NauticEd Sailing School, the courses, and/or the sailing certifications, contact us via email or phone, we're happy to help.

By Ed Mapes
USCG Captain Master Mariner

By Grant Headifen
NauticEd Global Director of Education

View Coastal Navigation Course excerpt