Seminars
Helping to make boating safer and more fun
In-Person Seminars
All in-person seminars will be held at the North Palm Beach Anchorage Park Building,
603 Anchorage Drive, North Palm Beach, FL, unless otherwise noted
Hurricane Preparation for Boaters
When a named storm threatens, you need to be prepared and protect your boat. In this short seminar, you’ll learn how to select a location from which to weather the storm and prepare your boat for a hurricane.
To Be Scheduled
For more information, contact us at:
Weather for Boaters
“A veering wind will clear the sky;
A backing wind says storms are nigh.”
All boaters have heard this mariner’s proverb or similar ones. They have a salty flavor that takes us back to the era of sailing ships. In this seminar students will learn the meteorological basis for them.
The safety and comfort of those who venture out-on-the-water have always been weather dependent. This seminar is a must for boaters who have never taken a weather course. The complex subject of weather is presented in a way that is both understandable and useful.
To Be Scheduled
For more information, contact us at:
Anchoring with Assurance
Good seamanship demands that all boaters know how to anchor safely. Anchoring topics begin with how to select an anchorage and how to anchor depending on conditions. After learning how anchors should be used, you will know if yours is satisfactory or what kind(s) to buy. The seminar covers useful anchoring tips and tricks and concludes by discussing how to moor and raft safely.
To Be Scheduled
For more information, contact us at:
Knots & Line Handling
Do you know which knots to use in every situation?Learn how to secure your boat to docks, piers, and other boats. Which knots to use in rescue and repair situations, manage running rigging, anchor securely, and tow other boats and people. This seminar will help you to know which knots to use in each situation. You’ll gain knowledge and hands-on experience with selecting the appropriate line and tying some of the most useful knots, bends and hitches. You’ll also find out what bends and hitches are.
To Be Scheduled
For more information, contact us at:
Boating with Confidence
Gain confidence, knowledge, and skills that you need for a variety of boat-handling situations.
Learn about basic operations: trimming your boat, operating on a plane, handling seas and waves, dealing with sand bars, rivers, river bends, and other situations you will encounter along your cruise. And you’ll have a better understanding about issues you can control, and how to handle them. Understand the issues that the environment will present and how to react in a timely manner.
To Be Scheduled
For more information, contact us at:
Rules of the Road
Navigational rules of the road help you know what to do when you share the water with other boats, how to recognize and signal intentions, and how to avoid a collision. This seminar focuses in a practical way on helping you understand the basic rules encountered by recreational boaters during almost every boating outing and the rules most likely to apply in the local waters where you boat. It covers skipper responsibilities, general rules and definitions, rules to avoid a collision, and sound and light signals.
To Be Scheduled
For more information, contact us at:
Online Seminars
Online seminars are available from America’s Boating Club Online Boating Education. https://www.americasboatingclub.org/index.php/learn/available-online
All About Marine Radio
Know how to use your VHF marine radio. You’ll need it in an emergency and for important ship-to-ship communications.
Marine radios provide boaters the best and most reliable communication on the water. Marine radios have many advantages over cell phones, especially in an emergency. Learn about the digital selective calling (DSC) rescue feature as well as everyday uses such as to secure a marina slip, call for bridge openings and much more. You’ll also get tips on purchasing and installing VHF to get the most out of your investment.
What’s included?
- How VHF radios work and their controls
- Using the correct channels
- Advanced methods of communication
- How digital selective calling (DSC) equipped radios work and their controls
This is an online seminar given by America's Boating Club
Introduction to Navigation
Navigating roadways and waterways is not the same. If you’re comfortable using GPS for car trips, don’t assume you’re automatically ready to use GPS on a boat. This seminar will help you learn some of the differences. You’ll get an overview of how to use electronic (and even paper) charts to plan a safe route with waypoints, how to navigate along the route, and how to check underway that you’re on course. Topics include:
- Understanding nautical charts
- The compass rose and magnetic variation
- Interpreting aids to navigation
- Establishing waypoints and planning routes
- Using chartplotters and multifunction displays
- Planning your voyage electronically
- Electronic navigation while underway
- What to do when the chartplotter quits working