Marine Navigation Training
Modern electronics have made navigation easier, but they haven't made it foolproof. Screens fail, signals drop, and the captain who only knows how to follow a chartplotter is the captain in trouble when it goes dark. SEASCORPS navigation training builds the judgment and the fundamentals that keep you in command of your vessel no matter what the instruments are doing.
Captain Mark Gervais brings 35 years at sea and the formal credentials to back it up, including U.S. Power Squadron Advanced Piloting and Celestial Navigation. He has served as captain and navigator in nine Newport–Bermuda Races, where precise offshore navigation is the difference between a podium finish and a long detour.
What You'll Learn
Training is tailored to your experience and goals, and can cover:
Offshore routing — planning bluewater passages, waypoint strategy, and adjusting a route as conditions change
Advanced piloting — fixes, set and drift, and dead reckoning when electronics aren't enough
Intracoastal and inland navigation — reading the ICW, markers, and shoaling, and handling the piloting that coastal cruising demands
Celestial navigation — the fundamentals of finding your position by the sun and stars, as a true backup to GPS
Real-world decision-making — putting it together and making confident calls at sea
Who It’s For
This training fits sailors and powerboaters at any level — from cruisers who want to stop depending entirely on their chartplotter, to owners preparing for their first offshore passage, to experienced hands sharpening skills they haven't used in years.
Instruction can take place aboard your own vessel so you're learning on the boat and the electronics you'll actually use.
Learn From a Working Navigator
Captain Mark's navigation experience isn't theoretical. It comes from 25,000-plus nautical miles offshore, eleven roundings of Cape Hatteras, and nine Newport–Bermuda Races as navigator. When he teaches a technique, it's one he has relied on when it mattered.
Schedule Navigation Training
Tell us about your experience and what you’d like to focus on, and we’ll put together a training plan that fits.