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Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum to offer chart navigation course in January

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum is offering a two-day chart navigation course which begins on Saturday, January 13 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, and concludes Sunday, January 14 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Participation is limited, with pre-registration needed.

Led by Captain Jerry Friedman, a USCG-licensed Master, this course is designed to teach participants the necessary steps to plan a cruise using navigation charts, which includes plotting courses to safely pilot a boat from one place to another. Boaters interested in being more proficient in navigation will learn techniques to determine a boat’s location without the use of electronic aids.

The course will cover reading charts, identifying objects, and plotting on a navigation chart; determining latitude and longitude to identify a boat’s location; using a compass rose, including the effects of deviation and variation; understanding the rules of the “road” on the water; identifying navigation aids, such as buoys, lights, daymarks, and ranges; and other instruction on planning a cruise.

A retired electrical engineering executive, Friedman has held a USCG captain’s license for 60 years. During that time, he also operated an emergency service towboat for BoatUS, assisting boaters along the Chesapeake Bay in distress, delivering boats around the Chesapeake and from Florida and Long Island to Annapolis, teaching navigation courses, editing a monthly professional captains’ publication, and providing instruction to boat owners in the operation of their boats. He currently holds a 100-ton Master’s license and serves as the volunteer lead captain of CBMM’s 1920 buyboat Winnie Estelle.

The program takes place in CBMM’s Van Lennep Auditorium and is $25 for CBMM members or $35 for non-members, with pre-registration needed at bit.ly/chartnavigation