Chart Confidence for New Skippers is a short, focused course designed to teach the essential chart skills every skipper (and crew!) needs to know.
It concentrates on the fundamentals: plotting your position on a paper chart, understanding latitude and longitude, and measuring direction and distance accurately. These skills are taught on paper charts so they make complete sense whether you are using paper or electronic charts, and they also provide a reliable backup if electronics fail.
By learning these core skills, you are able to carry out basic dead reckoning, which is an essential safety skill if GPS or onboard equipment stops working.
The full navigation course includes everything taught in Chart Confidence for New Skippers and then goes much deeper. It covers a wider range of navigation techniques and concepts, including variation and deviation, bearings, running fixes, set and drift, leeway, estimated position, deduced reckoning, and more advanced chart work. It is designed for skippers who want a stronger, more complete understanding of navigation and who want to be confident handling a wider range of real-world situations.
To answer the most common questions directly:
• The short Chart Confidence course is included in the full navigation course.
• You do not need to purchase both courses.
• If you want the complete navigation training, the full course already includes the short course material.
• If you want to master the basics first, Chart Confidence is a practical starting point and works well on its own.
Both courses are self-paced and designed to be practical, clear, and directly applicable on the water.
Do I need to purchase additional equipment?
As part of the course, you are given a printable nautical chart so you can start practising straight away at no extra cost. All you need to get going is a simple pencil and, if you have them, a pair of dividers or a compass. No additional equipment is required, and you can begin working through the skills immediately.
Of course if you’d like a full kit, you can purchase the full chart, portland plotter, compass pencil, and dividers here. (Chart and Nav kit sold separately)
Coastal Navigation Books
We also have two coastal navigation manuals – one has step-by-step navigation techniques very similar to our full online video course, with slightly more detailed explanations and some questions to complete straight away. The accompanying Q&A manual has questions and answers on every step, with explanations on how the answers are reached.