Navigation is one of those skills that feels reassuring once you understand it, but intimidating before you do. Many new skippers worry that they need to learn everything at once, when in reality a small number of core skills carry most of the load.
That is why the navigation training is split into two courses.
Chart Confidence for New Skippers: learning the essentials first
Chart Confidence for New Skippers is designed to help you get the basics right. It focuses on the three fundamental skills that underpin all navigation.
First, you learn how to plot your position correctly on a paper chart. This means understanding latitude, longitude, and how charts represent the real world on the water. These concepts matter whether you use electronic charts or paper, because they explain what the screen is actually showing you.
Next, you learn how to measure direction and distance accurately. These are practical skills that are used constantly, from short coastal passages to simple planning and position checks.
Once you have those skills, you are able to carry out basic deduced reckoning (DR). This is an essential safety skill and an important backup if GPS or other onboard equipment fails.
All of this is taught on paper charts so the logic is clear and transferable. If you understand it on paper, it will make sense on electronic charts too.
The full navigation course: building depth and judgement
The full navigation course includes everything taught in Chart Confidence for New Skippers, and then expands on it.
This course goes deeper into navigation techniques and decision-making. You work through topics such as variation and deviation, bearings, running fixes, set and drift, leeway, estimated position, and deduced reckoning. These are the tools that allow you to deal with more complex situations and to understand what is really happening when conditions or plans change.
The focus is not just on technique, but on building judgement. You learn why certain methods are used, when to apply them, and how different pieces of information fit together on the chart.
Which should you choose?
You do not need to take both courses.
Chart Confidence for New Skippers is included in the full navigation course. If you enrol in the full course, you already have access to the short course material.
Some skippers prefer to start with Chart Confidence, master the basics, and then move on later. Others know from the beginning that they want a deeper understanding and choose the full course straight away.
Both paths work. The important thing is that navigation becomes something you understand, rather than something you rely on technology to do for you.
The aim of both courses is the same: to help you know where you are, how you got there, and what your options are next, even when conditions or equipment do not go to plan.
Optional coastal navigation books
We also offer two coastal navigation manuals for those who like a printed reference. One manual covers step-by-step navigation techniques, closely aligned with the full online navigation course, with slightly more detailed explanations and exercises. The accompanying Q&A manual works through each step with questions, answers, and clear explanations of how the answers are reached. These books are entirely optional and not required to complete the course.