Navigation courses like "Coastal Navigation" and "Celestial Navigation" offer sailors a chance to increase their skill set. Navigation can mean many different things to different people. To some, it's a GPS unit, to others it's cartography and map interpretation, and to still others it's using the sun and stars to plot a course.

Sailors need to rely on all three of these types of navigation tools to be truly versatile and competent out on the water. GPS is great, but a map showing the whereabouts of dangerous, submerged shoals is a powerful visual aid. Similarly, being able to use celestial points for navigation means that you needn't rely on instrumentation to find your way to safety.

Increase Your Skills with Navigation Courses

The American Sailing Association certifies schools across the nation, and these sailing schools offer a solid education in navigation, both coastal and celestial. In a coastal navigation class, you will learn chart reading and interpretation, buoyage systems, bearing, and tide table use. In a celestial navigation course, you will learn to navigate in open waters using the planets and stars.

Knowing how to effectively navigate lends depth to sailing knowledge. Navigation skills take you out of the class of "day-trippers" and into the nationwide brotherhood (and sisterhood) of mariners. The right school will be able to teach navigation courses in a fun and friendly setting, according to American Sailing Association guidelines.