Education Overview – America's Boating Club

Congratulations on your interest in furthering your Boating Education! Beginner, intermediate or advanced — whatever your skill level, our in-depth boating education courses will boost your knowledge and confidence on the water.

Start here >> The Boating Safety Course (aka America’s Boating Course or ABC) gives you the basics you need to get out on the water safely, and it meets most state boating education requirements.

In addition, America’s Boating Club in St Petersburg offers a wide variety of advanced and specialty in-person courses, with option to participate remotely with Zoom. We currently offer 10 evening courses at the St Pete Sailing Center. Most run 8 to 10 weeks, one evening per week – a few are shorter, a few are longer. All are now being restructured into modules of about 6 weeks each to give squadrons and members maximum scheduling flexibility. Only a few of the advanced topics have any prerequisite courses.

If you choose to become a member, these outstanding educational opportunities all become available to you at a significant discount. To take advantage of the member rates and other benefits, click here to join the St. Petersburg Sail & Power Squadron.

America's Boating Course

This course is approved by the National Association of Safe Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA); and insurance companies traditionally provide discounts to graduates. Graduates also qualify for the Florida Boater’s Education ID Card which is required for those born on or after 1 January 1988, who operate a vessel powered by 10 horsepower or more.

Course	Duration	Day	Start	Cost
Boating Safety Course #1	1 Day	Saturday	Jan 31, 2026	$70.00
Boating Safety Course #2	1 Day	Saturday	Mar 21, 2026	$70.00
Boating Safety Course #3	1 Day	Saturday	Sep 12, 2026	$70.00
Boating Safety Course #4	1 Day	Saturday	Oct 24, 2026	$70.00

Seminars

Designed for boaters who want to gain knowledge about one specific topic. Experienced boaters who do not feel the need for multi-session boating courses will find that seminars provide explicit information on subjects of interest to them. Beginning boaters will find the opportunity to understand topics that may seem buried beneath layers of jargon.

Course	Duration	Day	Start	Cost (member/non-member)
On-board Emergencies	2 Hrs	Wednesday \| November 18th	7pm	$35.00/$50.00
Using VHF/DSC Marine Radio	2 Hrs	Wednesday \| December 16th	7pm	$35.00/$50.00
Using GPS	2 Hrs	Wednesday \| September 16th	7pm	$35.00/$50.00
How to Use a Chart	2 Hrs	Wednesday \| October 21st	7pm	$35.00/$50.00
Hurricanes and Boats	2 Hrs	Saturday \| May 2nd	9am	$34.95

Electives

Course	Duration	Day	Start	End	Cost (member/non-member)
Cruise Planning	8 Weeks	TBD (To be Determined)			$75.00/$100.00
Weather	8 Weeks	Tuesday	September 15th	November 3rd	$75.00/$100.00

Advanced Grade Courses (Must be taken sequentially)

The courses listed below have to be taken in the order displayed below.

Boat Handling is intended for newer recreational boaters who have completed a basic boating class (like America’s Boating Course) and want to learn more about skilled boat handling in a variety of situations.

Marine Navigation is the first of the navigational classes focusing on techniques for piloting a boat in coastal and inland conditions. The course emphasizes planning and checking along with the use of GPS and other electronic systems for determining position, and introduces digital charting along with traditional charting, compass and dead reckoning skills. Plotting, use of the compass, aids to navigation, electronic tools and a host of related topics are included in this all-new approach to coastal, inland and river piloting.

Advanced Marine Navigation (currently Advanced Piloting) is the second part of the inland and coastal navigation series. This material builds on the base developed in Piloting, and includes practical use of additional electronic navigation systems and other advanced techniques for finding position.

Offshore Navigation is the first of a two-part program of study in offshore (open coast) navigation. The student develops skills in methods of carrying on the day's work of a navigator at sea. Of particular interest and importance is the study of electronic offshore navigation planning and execution using downloadable computer software as well as the use of NOAA charts, plotting sheets and other navigational data for offshore positioning and passage planning.

Celestial Navigation is the companion course to Offshore Navigation to obtain the grade of Navigator (N). CEN focuses on using a sextant to precisely measure the altitude of celestial bodies, such as the sun, moon, planets, and stars. The student utilizes the Nautical Almanac and two different sight reduction methods to calculate the distance from an assumed position and develop lines of position and fixes used in offshore navigation.

Course	Duration	Day	Start	End	Cost (member/non-member)
Boat Handling (S)	5 Weeks	Tuesday	November 10th	December 8th	$75.00/$100.00
Marine Navigation (P)	10 Weeks	Thursday	September 17th	November 19th	$100.00/$125.00
Advanced Marine Navigation (AP)	10 Weeks	TBD (To be Determined)			$75.00/$100.00
Offshore Navigation (JN)	13 Weeks	TBD (To be Determined)			$125.00/$150.00
Celestial Navigation (N)	14 Weeks	TBD (To be Determined)			$150.00/$175.00