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                       Kelowna Squadron  - Courses               

"Boat Pro"

The Kelowna Squadron offers the Boat Pro Course to the general public.  On completion, you obtain your Pleasure Craft Operator Card.  Please phone the Kelowna Yacht Club at 762-3310 for info on class schedules.  

This is the best of the Canadian Coast Guard "accredited" seminars available.  It was one of the first to be accredited by the Canadian Coast Guard and contains all the information needed to achieve operator competency and a Pleasure Craft Operator Card.  A leader in its field, the Boat Pro Seminar is a great introduction to the boating safety and navigation information available in our "Boating" course.   Successful students of the seminar may apply for CPS Associate Membership with its specific benefits.  Taught by senior members of the Kelowna Power and Sail Squadron. 

"Boating" 

"Boating" courses begin in the first week of January and September.

This course provides a general introduction to the safe handling of boats of all types, and is the prerequisite to all advanced and elective CPS courses.  Once successfully completed, membership in CPS is available to the applicant.  Material covered includes; types of boats, boat handling, government regulations, nautical charts, aids to navigation, rules of the road, elementary chart plotting and calculations, the compass, bearings and fixes, safety considerations and equipment, lines and knots, anchoring, weather, canals, locks, and manners and customs.  Length of course is approximately 14 weeks and is offered in spring and fall each year. Registration for this course takes place at the Kelowna Yacht Club at 7:00 PM on the second Monday in September and January

"Piloting"

The piloting course builds on the knowledge acquired in the Boating course. A graduate of the Piloting Course will have the theoretical knowledge to be able to handle a boat in rough weather, and to deal with emergency situations. Boating Course subjects are expanded to include Relative Bearings and the Running Fix; effects of current and leeway, and new skills in marlinspike and coastal navigation are learned.

"Advanced Piloting"

The Advanced Piloting course teaches advanced coastal navigation principles to enable you to know, at all times, your location. The vessel's position can be determined by using landmarks and aids to navigation - allowing for current, leeway, tides and tidal currents.

The course content includes becoming familiar with charts, the compass, steering and timing a course, tides and tidal currents, effects of current and leeway, methods of determining position, Running Fixes, aids to navigation, electronic navigational aids and the marine sextant.           

"Celestial Navigation"

This course combines the original works of the Junior Navigator and Navigator courses and applies the sciences of cartography and astronomy to set a course and determine a position at sea. Emphasis is placed on "how" to navigate and, with basic math and calculator skills, the student will have little difficulty.  For proper study, the student will require the use of  Bowditch, current-year Nautical Almanac and Star Finder.   (These items must be acquired separately).   The student will also require a scientific hand-held calculator with trigonometric capability.   Course content includes use of the sextant, electronic navigation, the Nautical Almanac, sight reduction by formula and scientific calculator, the Pilot and Great Circle charts and much more.         

"Marine Maintenance"

The Maintenance course will expand the average boat-owner's knowledge of vessel maintenance. Course content: seasonal maintenance and repairs to wooden, fiberglass and metal hulls are stressed. Sections are devoted to maintenance of electrical and mechanical systems;  spars, rigging and ground tackle;  fire and safety protection;  moorings and berths; trailers;  tools and fittings.                  

"VHF Radio Operator" - updated

When you're out on the water, your VHF radio is your most valuable lifeline.  Knowing how to use it could save your life.  The Radio Talk seminar is a two-evening seminar designed to teach recreational boaters the proper use of the VHF radio.  You'll learn about the phonetic alphabet, how to make a distress call and correct VHF radio operating procedures.  The seminar will enable a student to challenge the test that leads to the Restricted Radiotelephone Operator's Certificate (maritime), which is mandatory to operate a VHF radio.    Note that the VHF Radio Operator Course has been recently updated to include the new topics of DSC  ( Digital Selective Calling )  and  GMDSS ( Global Maritime Distress and Safety System ).  These are features found on newer models of VHF radios that are available for purchase recently.  It is a requirement of Industry Canada that our VHF Radio Operator Course include training on the new technology.

"Weather"

Part one of the "Weather Course", first published September 2000, is designed for the coastal boater as well as those boating on Interior lakes.  The course consists of seven chapters.   How the sun causes weather,  what causes the wind to blow,  water in the atmosphere including the various forms of precipitation and fog.  Additionally, the course covers cloud types, fronts and frontal weather, thunderstorms, tornadoes and a section on forecasting the weather.
                                                                                                               

"GPS Navigation"

The GPS seminar teaches students how to navigate safely and efficiently to any destination, using primarily a GPS receiver and conventional charts. The seminar is restricted to only the navigational aspects of GPS.

To select a route to follow, utilizing a GPS receiver, requires knowledge of basic navigation principles.  Without such knowledge, the navigator must place complete reliance and blind trust upon complex equipment and the ability to use it properly, under all circumstances.

When properly installed and operated, modern electronic navigation systems are generally very reliable. These inexpensive systems are available to serve as primary, back-up, or lifeboat navigation systems.

Although the controlling authorities go to great lengths to ensure reliability and accuracy, the signals upon which all such systems depend are not always available.  A more common cause of navigation failure is human error.  Many mistakes are made in entering data.  Incorrect positions or commands are often inserted and wrong waypoints selected, sometimes with disastrous results, as the computer does precisely what it is commanded to do.  The GPS seminar outlines procedures designed to minimize the possibility of human error in the operation of electronic navigation equipment.