Glendale Community College, Community Services Registration

For more than sixty years, the mission of the volunteer civilian members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary has been to assist the Coast Guard in the performance of its civil functions - particularly the promotion of recreational boating safety. One of the four cornerstones of our organization is Public Education.

America's Boating Course

The boat and water safety course topics include:

Introduction to Boating: power boats; sailboats; different uses of boats; family boating basics.

Boating Law: boat registration; Federal and State laws; boating regulation; hull identification number; required boat safety equipment; operating safely and reporting accidents; protecting the marine environment.

Boat Safety Equipment: personal flotation devices ("life jackets"); fire extinguishers; dock lines and rope; first aid kit; anchors and anchor lines; other boating safety equipment.

Safe Boating: docking, undocking and mooring; knots; alcohol and drug abuse; entering, loading, and trimming a boat; filing a float plan; checking equipment, fuel, weather and tides; charts; anchoring; general water safety.

Navigation: types of buoys and beacons; navigation rules; avoiding collisions; sound signals.

Boating Problems: hypothermia; boating accidents and rescues; man overboard recovery; capsizing; river hazards; emergency radio calls; engine problems; equipment failures; carbon monoxide (CO); other boating problems.

Trailering, Storing and Protecting Your Boat: types of trailers; brakes, lights, hitches, tires; loading, balancing, and towing a trailer; towing (and backing) a trailer; boat launching and retrieving; boat storage and theft protection.

Hunting and Fishing, Water-skiing and River Boating: carrying hunting gear and weapons in a boat; fishing from a boat; water-skiing safety guidelines and hand signals; water-skiing with a PWC; navigating rivers, and other boating tips.

BOATING SKILLS & SEAMANSHIP COURSES

The U. S. Coast Guard Auxiliary's Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S) course is a comprehensive course designed for both the experienced and the novice boater. The course consists of 6 required two-hour lessons plus elective modules, providing up-to-date knowledge for handling boats in all conditions.

This six to eight-lesson course is directed toward the power boater, but also has applications for the sailing enthusiast, emphasizing safe boating practices. The course covers such topics as boat characteristics and structure, nautical nomenclature, legal requirements and necessary equipment, boat handling, aids to navigation, navigation rules, marine radiotelephone and trailering.

BASIC COASTAL NAVIGATION
and
ADVANCED COASTAL NAVIGATION (BCN/ACN)

Courses familiarize the boating public with voyage planning, aids to navigation, visual and electronic navigation, and chart reading/plotting. Don't plan on heading off-shore without first completing BCN/ACN.