Learn to Cruise Online

LTCO Sail Canada Advanced Navigation Course Overview

We are pleased to announce that the LearnToCruiseOnline.ca (LTCO) Advanced Navigation course launched on May 6, 2024.  This online self-study course addresses all the requirements for certification for the Sail Canada Advanced Navigation standard.  The most recent version of the standard is here:  https://www.sailing.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Advanced-Navigation-1-August-2023.pdf

1. LTCO’s Advanced Navigation Course

The SC Advanced Navigation standard provides a framework that organizes the navigational knowledge and skills needed for leading challenging coastal and offshore passages.  It is a prerequisite for skipper certification at the SC Offshore Cruising level.

LTCO’s Advanced Navigation course has two primary objectives:

1. To prepare participants to successfully write the four exams required for SC Advanced Nav certification;

2. Equally importantly, to provide the theoretical knowledge and practical skills that are needed to be confident acting as skipper / navigator for challenging coastal and offshore passages, taking advantage of both traditional technique and modern marine electronics.

Like the SC Advanced Nav Standard, LTCO’s  Advanced Navigation course is comprised of 4 modules:

1. Passage Planning and Chart Work:  this module teaches coastal navigation techniques that are beyond those covered in the SC Intermediate Coastal Navigation standard, including planning complex passages, calculating tide and current effects that cannot be directly determined from tide and current tables, familiarity with multiple chart types, and application of various advanced techniques for determining position.
2. Navigation Systems:  this module covers use of modern navigation technology including electronic compasses, GNSS devices, AIS, GMDSS safety equipment, and chart plotters and other display devices that are integrated with sensors and instruments on a yacht’s network.
3. Radar: this module covers the knowledge and skills needed to use radar effectively in navigation, and provides an opportunity to practice using a Radar Simulator.
4. Weather:  this module provides a more in-depth examination of marine weather than lower-level Sail Canada cruising and navigation standards, aimed at providing a more theoretical understanding of marine weather phenomena, combined with the practical knowledge necessary to obtain and use weather forecasts to assist decision-making on an offshore passage.

2. Course format

The course is hosted on LTCO’s new Moodle site at https://courses.learntocruiseonline.ca, built and administered by Rob McLean. 

The course is designed as a self-study course, in which students can progress at whatever pace works for them.  Students may progress through the modules in any order they wish.

For each module, we provide a set of references and resources, which depending on the module may include:

• A recommended official text which a student can purchase separately in hard copy or as an ebook.  Where no suitable  third pary published text exists, we provide either detailed Guidance Notes, or an online screencast.
• A Reference Note that shows where each element of the Advanced Nav standard is addressed in the text or other resources
• Supplementary documents that provide additional relevant information and where appropriate, links to additional online references
• Examples and exercises that help consolidate the knowledge needed to pass the official SC exam for each module
• A practice exam to help students prepare for the official SC exams

3. SC Official exams

An official exam for any module can be scheduled whenever a participant feels that they are ready to write it.  Exams can be supervised in person on by a suitable proctor.

• The SC Passage Planning and Chart Work exam is a three hour open book exam that is similar in format to the Intermediate Coastal Nav exam.  The passage planning and plotting components are based on the Chart 9996IC Strait of Georgia Southern Portion – CPS Sept. 12, 2014
• The SC Navigation Systems exam is a one-hour closed book multiple choice exam
• The SC Radar exam is a one-hour closed book multiple choice exam
• The SC Weather exam is a two-hour closed book exam.

4. Course author / instructor

LTCO’s Advanced Nav course has been assembled by Rob McLean, who has six decades of sailing and boating experience. He began cruising in 1982 and has accumulated more than 40,000 miles on the Great Lakes and associated inland waterways, the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico, including more than 20,000 miles offshore and two Atlantic crossings.  

Rob is the only Offshore Instructor certified by both ASA and Sail Canada., and is also the only IE certified by both ASA and Sail Canada.  As an offshore instructor, he has led more than 10 offshore courses since 2021.  

In 2017, Rob collaborated with Phil Morris of Wavelength Sailing to launch LearnToCruiseOnline.ca, which is Canada’s leading source of online sailing education, having trained over 1500 students in recent years.

As an Instructor Evaluator, Rob has contributed to the development of the evaluation materials for the SC Advanced Navigation standard, making significant contributions to the development of the exams for all modules.

His detailed sailing and instructor resume is available here:

https://robmclean.ca/sailingresume.html

Rob is available by email and phone to answer questions or provide additional coaching as needed.

5. Introductory Pricing

Students may subscribe for each module individually, or for the complete course.  There is a substantial discount for signing up for the full course.  Introductory pricing, available for a limited time, is as follows:

Module	Cost
Module 1: Passage Planning and Chart Work	$400 + HST
Module 2: Navigation Systems	$350 + HST
Module 3: Radar	$250 + HST
Module 4: Weather	$350 + HST
Total if purchased separately	$1350 + HST
Bundle discount	$355
Full Course (all four module)	$995 + HST

These prices covers access to online content, email / phone support, access to a practice exam, the official exam marking fee, and the fee that Checklick assesses when your Sail Canada Advanced Nav certification is processed.  For two modules, texts by David Burch must be purchased separately.  Online content is available for a full calendar year, but access will be extended if additional time is required.

To subscribe, follow the steps below. 

1. First, create an account on the LTCO Moodle server.  Access https://courses.LearntoCruiseOnline.ca, click the Log In link at the top right, and select the “Create New Account” button
2. Second, return to the home page and select SC Advanced Nav Full Course or the individual course module you wish to subscribe to.  On the subsequent page you will see a course summary and button that when clicked will take you to the Stripe.com website, which is our payment provider.  Insert your credit card details to complete the payment.
3. Once subscribed, you will be able to access the online resources for each module.  A summary of these resources is provided in Section 6 below.

6. Summary of resources for each LTCO Advanced Nav module

The following provides a summary of the resources available to LTCO Advanced Nav subscribers for each of the four Advanced Nav modules.  In a few cases, resources are still in developmend and will be available in the coming

6.1 Passage Planning and Chart Work

• • Guidance Notes 1 (GN1):  Passage Planning and Chart Work (Rob McLean). The document:
    • Describes how the knowledge and skill requirements for Advanced Navigation differ from the requirements for Intermediate Coastal Navigation for Passage Planning, Tides and Currents, and Chart Work
    • Provides guidance, exercises and illustrative solutions related to these requirements
  • GN1_Plotting_Resources.pdf: Provides selected resources needed for the exercises included in GN1
  • Reference Note 1 (RN1): References each component of the Advanced Nav standard for Passage Planning and Chart Work to the content provided in the GN1
  • Guide to Official Navigation Documents and Resources: Provides references to official navigation documents for Canada, US, and International. 
  • Passage Planning and Chart Work Practice exam: Provides a practice exam and answer key covering the Passage Planning and Chart Work component of the Advanced Nav standard (available in July, 2024)

6.2 Navigation Systems

• CB2: The Connected Boat Screencasts, Version 2 (2024) by Rob McLean.  These screencasts provide details, explanations, and examples covering all navigational technologies referenced in the Advanced Nav standard.  The screencasts will be available in July, 2024.

(The original Connected Boat version was published on youTube in 2017 and is available at the following link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxlIhoxl7oo )

• Reference Note 2 (RN2): References each component of the Advanced Nav standard for Navigation Systems to where this is covered in the CB Version 2 Screencast

• Navigation Systems Practice exam: Provides a practice exam and answer key covering the Navigation Systems component of the Advanced Nav standard (available in July, 2024)

6.3 Radar

• Official Text:  Radar for Mariners, by David Burch.  You can purchase this book in paper or ebook formats.  I purchased the ebook available on the Apple books platform, but it is available in other formats also.

• Reference Note 3 (RN3): References each component of the Advanced Nav standard for Radar to where this is covered in Radar for Mariners

• Broadband Radar Notes (BRN) by Rob McLean: provides more detailed notes on broadband radar than the content in Radar for Mariners. Broadband radar refers to a new radar technology that is more accurate and requires less power than traditional magnetron-based radars

• BridgeCommand Radar Simulator Notes (BCRSN) by Rob McLean.  Provides guidance on obtaining and using the free BridgeCommand radar simulator software

• Radar practice exam: Provides a practice exam and answer key covering the Radar component of the Advanced Nav standard (available in July, 2024)

6.4 Weather

• Official Text:  Modern Marine Weather, by David Burch.  You can purchase this book in paper or ebook formats.  I purchased the ebook available on the Apple books platform, but it is available in other formats also.

• National Marine Weather Guide (NMWG) available at: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/general-marine-weather-information/regional-guides/national.html

• Wind, Weather and Waves: A Guide to Marine Weather in the Great Lakes Region (WWW): available at https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2020/eccc/en56/En56-125-2-2011-eng.pdf

• Notes on Weather Apps and Models (NWAM) by Rob McLean

• Reference Note 4 (RN4): References each component of the Advanced Nav standard for Weather to where this is covered in each of the four documents referenced above

• Weather practice exam: Provides a practice exam and answer key covering the Radar component of the Advanced Nav standard (available in July, 2024)