There are two methods of doing the course – either via home study or by live webinar. Expect to pay around $300* for the home study course and around $550** for the webinar scheme.
* Equivalent to approx. UK £195, or 265 EUROS
** Equivalent to approx. UK £325, or 445 EUROS
After completing the course you will be able to navigate on open ocean – or even through other featureless areas such as desert – using the sun and stars. You will learn how to use the sextant and star charts to establish your position.
You can’t always count on GPS to get you where you going. Any decent amount of experience at sea will teach you that on a longer passage anything can go wrong and this includes your electronics going down. If this happens in a storm mid way to Hawaii then you may be 1000 miles from shore with no firm idea how to locate those islands that are a needle in a haystack compared to the size of the Pacific.. unless of course you take this course.
This is entirely dependent on the level of experience you have before you begin. The course only teaches you celestial navigation and is a prerequisite to doing the ASA 108 Offshore Passagemaking course.
The course may well be worth considering as a non seafarer who plans on hiking a longer distance over land too, as it could get you out of trouble even ashore.
This is entirely theory though you should be able to get an accurate star sight as part of the course. You can do it at home without going to sea.
You can order the course material and take it at home, however if you wish to do the webinar version you should have an internet connection.
Yes! You can revise anywhere in the world, although you will have to sit the exam in a US Public Library.
You need no previous experience, though if studying this as part of the ASA syllabus this is a prerequisite to doing the ASA 108 Offshore Passagemaking course, and you will therefore have the ASA 106 Advanced Coastal Cruising certificate.
Three Saturdays if doing this by webinar, or 12 hours’ home study.
The full syllabus of the ASA course is available here on the ASA website. It covers all the theory and techniques of navigating by day and night using the Sun, stars and chronometer to establish your position.
You are qualified to do the ASA 108 Offshore Passagemaking certificate upon completion of the course.
Have a look at the ASA website to find out what it involves, or take a look at the course outline and required equipment here.