Phone/Fax: 904-928-1617 • E-Mail the Captain
P.O. Box 551733, Jacksonville, FL 32255

WHO WE ARE

Coastal Yachting Academy is owned and operated by Captain Don W. Harper and Barbara Harper. We are a husband and wife team with over 35 years of varied boating experience including live aboard, cruising and powerboat delivery. All courses are developed by us and either taught by me or under my direct supervision. Although not associated with the Coast Guard or its Auxiliary, all instructors are Coast Guard or Coast Guard Auxiliary trained.

OUR GOAL

To provide the recreational boater reasonably priced training equal to the training of professional mariners.

WHY TAKE A BOATING COURSE?

Taking boating courses can make boating enjoyable, make you more skilled and a safer boater, and save you money. By completeing our Practical Boating Safety, Seamanship and Navigation course you could be eligible for an ANNUAL insurance discount equal to or larger than the ONE TIME cost of the course. Most boating courses require several hours of classroom work spread over a number of weeks in a set schedule. By taking our correspondence courses you can study in the comfort of your home or while enjoying your boat, and on your own schedule. You will receive personal grading and personalized comment, from the instructor, on each of your assignments.

COURSES

Our courses are available in two correspondence course formats (online format or print format) and as a combination correspondence/classroom course. In the online format: (a) you go into the web site to get your reading assignment, (b) read the lesson assignment in the text book and, (c) then go back into the web site to take and submit each test. In the print format the reading assignments and tests are mailed to you when you enroll. You do the reading assignments and then take the printed tests and mail them in for grading. The correspondence/classroom format is available for groups of students such as a boat club, yacht club, or a group of boating friends. They all individually take the basic course in either format plus receive 16 hours of classroom lecture.

Practical Boating Safety, Seamanship and Navigation — This course is approved by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators and recognized by the U.S. Coast Guard as acceptable to the National Recreational Boating Safety Program. It also meets the requirements for Florida's mandatory boating education program. It is more comprehensive than a basic Power Squadron or Coast Guard Auxiliary course but less comprehensive than a Coast Guard license prep course. It is available by correspondence/home study or classroom. The text is Chapman Piloting Seamanship & Small Boat Handling and a supplemental text for 1 lesson prepared by us. The course has 20 lessons. The student reads the assigned chapters/pages for each lesson and completes a fill-in-the-blanks test on each lesson. They also take 7 multiple choice tests, each based on a block of 1 to 4 of the lessons. Both the Correspondence and Classroom students receive the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators Approved Certificate. Click here to see the outline for this course. Navigation Rules for the Yachtsman — The Navigation Rules are the "rules of the road" or "driving rules" for the operation of boats and ships. They are written to prevent collisions on the water. All boats, from the smallest to the largest, power and sail, pleasure, commercial or government owned must comply with the International and Inland Navigation rules. This course is based on a text written by us, on questions used in a discontinued Coast Guard course or on current Coast Guard license exams. It is composed of 5 lessons. Each lesson has a reading assignment and 1 or 2 short tests. After completing all 5 lessons the student then takes a 50 question multiple choice final exam. This course is designed for all levels of boater-from new boaters to "old Salts"- and should give anyone taking it a better working knowledge of the Navigation rules. Click here to see the outline for this course. CLASSROOM COURSES — Both the Practical Boating Safety, Seamanship, and Navigation and the Navigation Rules for the Yachtsman courses are available as classroom courses. The course content is the same as in the self study/correspondence courses. Before the class starts, the student should have done all of the reading assignments and fill in the blanks tests. They then take 16 hours of classroom lecture and take the block tests during the class. All Classroom courses are two day courses, taught on weekends, in Jacksonville, Florida. Since the classroom course requires extensive homework before the class starts, we recommend that you register at least two weeks before the start of the class you want. Class space is limited. Classroom courses will be scheduled based on student demand. For more information on the classroom courses or to register, E-Mail us or call 904-928-1617. COST for Correspondence/Classroom and Text: Practical Boating Safety, Seamanship and Navigation: On Line Format $50.00 Spring Special Print Format $50.00 Spring Special Classroom $150.00 plus text if applicable Text: The text is Chapman Piloting Seamanship & Small Boat Handling. It is NOT included in course materials but is available from most bookstores or marine supply stores. Navigation Rules for the Yachtsman Text Included: On Line Format $50.00 Spring Special Print Format $50.00 Spring Special Classroom $150.00 plus text if applicable To Order: Correspondence courses Click on the Name of the course Above. To register for a Classroom Course E-Mail or Phone Us. Credit Cards & Checks Accepted: (All Secure over the Internet) Visa, Mastercard & Discover ***Refund Policy: If you receive a course with pages missing let us know which pages you need and we will send them to you. Each course is sent with the booklets "sealed". Since we are in the printed information business, if you break the seal we will not refund your purchase. If the course is returned postage paid---with the seal unbroken---within 30 days your purchase price less shipping and handling will be refunded. Other courses under development or consideration — Advanced Practical Seamanship and Navigation, Practical Cruising and Seamanship, Radar for the Yachtsman, Marine Radio, Safety at Sea, and Understanding Your Yacht's Engines and Mechanical Equipment. Contact us for more information.

BOATING BACKGROUND OF LEAD INSTRUCTOR

I have a U.S. Coast Guard Master's License (100-ton, Near Coastal [Out to 200 Miles Offshore]), an FCC Commercial Marine Radio Operator's License for the operation of radios on vessels required by FCC regulations to be radio-equipped, and a personal FCC Portable Ship's Station License authorizing me to operate marine radios and radar sets under my license on a vessel where the new owner has not had time to apply for his license. I have over 35 years of boating experience including 28 years of liveaboard boating experience on vessels in the 55-foot range and work on crew boats in the offshore oil industry in Louisiana. I have over 32 years experience in the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary in operations and instruction, with specialized training in instruction, patrol, communications, coastal navigation, search and rescue work, and have successfully completed the U.S. Coast Guard Institute Course, "Ship-handling." I have been certified by the Coast Guard to operate Coast Guard Auxiliary vessels under government orders. I have experience using bow thrusters and operating single and twin-screw powerboats up to 82 feet. We have experience coastwise and on the Intracoastal Waterway from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Kennebunkport, Maine; on the Western River System from the Chicago, Omaha, and Minneapolis areas to Mobile, Alabama, (Illinois Waterway, Missouri River, Mississippi River, Ohio River, Tennessee River, and the Tenn-Tom Waterway); on Lake Michigan from Harbor Springs, Michigan, to Chicago, and on Lake Erie, Welland Canal, Lake Ontario, the Erie Canal and Hudson River.

CONTACT US
For more information

Coastal Yachting Academy
P.O. Box 551733, Jacksonville, FL 32255
Phone/Fax 904-928-1617
E-Mail the Captain

©1999 - 2008 Captain Don W. Harper, All Rights Reserved