Educational Department News February 2018

Educational Department

 

Feb 8, 2018

Online JN

After advertising to members in OnBoard the latest online JN course under the tutorship of P/C/C Tony Gardiner is now full to bursting with 23 students. JN and N courses (now Boating 6 and 7) are difficult to get enrolled in many places locally and for sure going online sitting at your own desk or your couch is a lot better than commuting weekly to a nearby squadron that does run these courses.

The great thing about classroom instruction and the downside of online instruction is the difficulty of giving students practical experience in course material such as, in this case, “hands-on” sextants. As you will be aware an integral part of both JN and N is using the sextant and the Mark 1 Eyeball to establish one’s position using the Sun (JN, B6) or the Sun, Moon and Stars (N, B7).

Tony Gardiner is interested in getting practical help from members with the SN or N grade across the country who would be prepared to give local, hands-on tuition to students from his class.

RI Refresher

At the Educational Department meeting, on December 6, 2017 a motion was passed with regards to the Recognized Instructor (RI) Refresher Course status.
In order to remain current with teaching techniques RIs are required to participate in the CPS-ECP

Refresher Course at least once every four years. The four-year period will coincide with the dates of the Recognized Examiner contracts. This seminar is available on our website under Instructor Services, or it may be given in a Squadron or District round table discussion format.

This motion applies to those RIs that teach either or both of our government courses – PCOC and
ROC(M).

Seminars

As stated at the last Educational Department virtual meeting we are in the final stages of producing the first of what we hope will be a library of CPS-ECP produced seminars. Two seminars are getting to the production and print stage; Automatic Identification System (AIS) and Collision Regulations (ColRegs) and a number of other seminars are being accepted from squadrons. The Educational Department is interested in receiving short presentations with text and graphics that are in seminar form or could be turned into a two hour seminar from squadrons or individuals. If you have anything to offer please contact ANEO Brian Reis – contact details in the National Directory or on CPS-ECP website.

Digital Library

As we are continuing to operating our suite of courses and updating them and now moving into offering short seminars a need is arising to improve our library of graphics and photographs. With the arrival of the New IT System we are intending to establish a library of digital images, diagrams and photographs. With this in mind the Educational Department is inviting members to contribute their photographs of boating subjects- boats both sail and power and all the things that make our boating lives – sails, lines, buoys, range markers, fixed makers etc. Please send your photos to Vanessa Schmidt at the National Office.

Photo: Penny Carpenter

Video Gallery

Neptunus 650F Review

Neptunus 650F 400

By Andy Adams

Over the years Canadian Yachting has had the pleasure of doing several boat review articles on new Neptunus models and we are familiar with the qualities that Neptunus is famous for. They have all been exceptional yachts, but this is the one I would most want to own myself. It’s a personal choice and a matter of taste as to whether you would prefer to have a sedan express model or a flybridge but in my opinion, the flybridge layout offers some wonderful attributes.

We met with Neptunus Managing Director Jan Willem De Jong this past fall to take the new Neptunus 650F out in Lake Ontario. 

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Destinations

The Other Virgin Islands

Sunset off St John

By Mark Stevens

I was first seduced by the United States Virgin Islands during a ferry ride from St. Thomas to Tortola to begin one of our earliest British Virgin Islands charters nearly twenty years ago.

A perfect sunset off St. John with St. Thomas views for backdrop.

Clearing Pillsbury Sound, surrounded by voluptuous emerald mountains as the ferry sliced through royal blue waters, I was struck by the unspoiled ambiance of St. John, the island gliding past our starboard beam and the irresistible charm of a village called Cruz Bay visible from our quarter stern.

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Lifestyle