Skipper Training

Welcome to the fantastic world of Boating! You and your family’s enjoyment of your vessel and the waterways can, and should, be enhanced by experiencing all the fun, while safely and competently mastering your vessel and maritime rules.

Safety, maintenance, rigging, operating, navigating, anchoring, docking, communicating, and understanding maritime rules are all essential for the Skipper to know. There are a number of ways for a Skipper to attain this knowledge.

Experience (good or bad) is certainly a teacher, the trick is to avoid bad experience that could discourage or just plain scare you, members of your family, or guests on your vessel.

Costs associated with mistakes can range anywhere from putting a nasty expensive scratch on your boat to, God forbid, actually injuring someone.

A responsible Skipper could take a Power Squadron course that teaches the rules of the road in a classroom. I would never discourage this, (actually required in some instances for compliant operation) attaining knowledge of your endeavors is always a good idea. The shortcomings of this type of course is lack of practical or operational training specifically to your vessel and environment.

An enthusiastic Skipper could also seek to achieve a United States Coast Guard Mariner rating. Again, an excellent source of knowledge and a documented record with the Coast Guard of your learned responsibilities as the Master of a vessel on the waterways. But, still no “Hands On” instruction on your vessel with things like wind and current impacting what “Looked easy on paper!”

Enter Captain Mike Nowak — A Certified Instructional Captain aboard your vessel offering instruction and coaching so you can be the best possible, safe, and responsible Skipper.

This training can be consumed at your convenience with easy scheduling. Whether scheduling an “hour on anchoring” or weekend of “shaking down and rigging” a new boat, SavvySkipper.com will provide value packed time with effective tactile learning for boat owners.