Power Squadron

[Pitch Pocket]

All the talk about near death and dying has me wondering. Has anyone taken advantage of the Power Squadron's courses on seamanship, piloting, maintenance and other sea faring education courses? Coast Guard approved and a good basis of knowledge for anyone interested in offshore adventures. Maybe the courses should be a pre-requisit for "Salty Dog" status. Roll call?

[Pilar]

Pitch Pocket, let me be the first to say that I have not. I have heard good things about it and I should get off my butt and do it.

Now that I have learning it the hard way out behind me .. maybe I can learn the right way.

Pilar's Mate, you in?

[kenai]

Excellent idea! I just called the beaverton unit and they are presently planning on having the class after labor day. You can sign up now and get reminded. Another recommendation for inexpensive training is the advanced coastal navigation class taught by USCG aux. Lots of useful info in that one.

[Miss B Haven]

I'm interested! Gotta be close to Hillsboro- no drives across town on a school day for me! Like Pilar- Been through the OJT and school of hard knocks, a little classroom training would be good. Besides- it's all about water and boats right?

[skein]

Janis and I just finished their Coastal Navigation class - one night a week for 10 weeks. We felt we learned a lot, but at the end did not feel confident enough to even attempt the test. We intend to retake it, but it's only offered one term a year, so unless we find it somewhere else, we've got a long wait. These classes are taught free gratis by the Auxillary and my hat is off to them for the effort they put out.

The course was free, with a $30 charge for books and materials. We found the additional supplies we needed, i.e. plotters, dividers, etc at Englund's (they love me).

I can tell you we spent quite a bit of time slogging through the problems. I only gave the book a so-so rating because in most instances they tried to give too much information instead of using a step-by-step approach. The accompanying workbook was excellent, however, with much more logical (and real-world) problem sets. You smart guys would zip right through it, but for us flat-landers it was pretty complex.

Bottom line is we learned a lot, but were overwhelmed quite a bit of the time. There's a LOT to learn about this stuff.

I keep imagining the time when I have to come back in the fog, using my compass and RPM's because my electronics went south. I'm gonna really appreciate what I've learned and practiced when that day arrives....

Skein

[black magic]

I have been a member of Portland Power Squadron for about four years. I have taken three courses: Basic Boating, Seamanship, and Piloting. I thought that the course work was presented very thoroughly by knowledgeable instructors. I plan to continue with more advanced courses in the future. I feel very secure from what I have learned that I know that I have sufficient skills to successfully navigate without any electronics.

[Jet Drifter]

I completed "Basic Seamanship" from the Coast Guard Auxiliary from Ketchikan in 1994. It was a great course, for this Salty Pup, living on an island.
Thanks for the information on the coastal navigation class. That's next.
So much to learn, so little time.

[blubeast]

Sounds like useful info.

Kenai, could you pls post the contact info for the Beaverton group... sounds like there are some others who are also interested. Thanks

[SlabQuest]

Don't forget the insurance discount for "graduates"...

[kenai]

Phone number for district 32 beaverton is 503-635-6725

[blubeast]

Thanks for the number Kenai.

I just called the number and he suggested I call back in the fall to register. Class usually starts during the week right after Larbor Day and is held near Washington Sq.

Thanks again for the info.

[ 05-07-2003, 12:14 PM: Message edited by: blubeast ]