In Person Classes, Presentations and Workshops
On-Shore, Classroom-based Navigation Certification Courses
Presentations & Workshops for your Event, School or Club
Navigation Classes On Shore
With Internationally Recognized Certifications
Nav-1 Certification: Essentials for Electronic Marine Navigation
Nav-1 covers how to safely plan and navigate a trip aboard a vessel during daytime and within sight of land using electronic navigation. In addition to navigation concepts and the use of electronic devices to navigate, the course includes planning and route considerations such as time and distance, arrival time factors, fuel and water requirements, weather, tide and current conditions.
Nav-1 is the FIRST electronic marine navigation Certification in the US, and Shearwater University is one of the first schools to offer it.
- Tuition: $500 includes books and Certification
- Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites, however Navigation Essentials Online is strongly recommended as a co-requisite.
- Equipment: You need to bring a tablet (phone is too small), with the Navionics Boating App already installed. Detailed guidance will come with registration.
Choose your class dates below to register for an upcoming Nav-1 in-person class.
Nav-1 at Cruisers College
April 18-19, 2026
Anacortes, WA
Click For Registration
Coastal Navigation Certification: Advanced Skills for Extended Cruising and Challenging Waters
The Coastal Navigation Certification course advances your navigation skills with time-honored methods that continue to keep boaters safe anywhere, under any conditions.
This course is strongly recommended for boaters embarking on extended cruising or venturing into challenging waters anywhere in the world.
- Tuition: $650 includes books and Certification
- Prerequisites: Completion of Navigation Essentials Online is required, as it is the foundation for these advanced skills.
- This is a 3-day class: 2 full days of instruction and active exercises. Day 3 is test prep and the Exam.
Exam Makeup Day Option
Need more study time before the exam?
Need a second go at it if you didn't pass the first time?
No problem! For a nominal fee we have a full-day available to get last-minute help and take or re-take the exam.
Scheduling for this day is case-by-case, via email. So get in touch if you are in need of this coaching & testing day.
Presentations and Workshops
Join one or many at events from coast to coast. Or contact us to request a Seminar Presentation or Workshop at your event, club or boating school. All topics presented by Captain Phyllis Woolwine, founder of Shearwater University.
Presentation and Workshop Topics
The following topics are normally 1-2 hours, and can be longer.
Docking for 2 People and 1 Line, in Any Conditions with Full Control
Maneuvering Strategies in Close Quarters - Best Practices for Full Control
Navigating the New Charting Environment: Using the New NOAA ENC Chart System and the NOAA Online Custom Chart Tool
Tides and Currents: Science and Survival
Pacific Northwest Marine Weather
Knothing But Knots!
Anchoring: Getting and Staying Stuck!
Demystifying Locks and Bridges
2-Day Workshops for Your Club, School or Event
Close Quarters Maneuvering & Docking: Combining shore instruction and hands-on, on-water sessions
Nav-1: Electronic Navigation Certification Course
Coastal Navigation Certification: This includes a third day for test prep, and the exam
See our Events Page for upcoming presentations
Contact Shearwater University to request a presentation, workshop or weekend course at your club, boating school or event.
Your Instructor
Captain Phyllis Woolwine is a leader in Maritime Education in the Northwest, and owner of Shearwater University. “Captain Wooly” and her crew specialize in custom instruction on boats of all types and sizes. Outstanding instruction on the water, online, and as a public presenter, is founded on her deep experience & leadership as a National Board Certified Teacher, and as a lifelong mariner of the Salish Sea & Inside Passage (including 18 years in SE Alaska). Captain Wooly’s reputation for helping boaters understand and apply complex topics, with dynamic, relevant and immediately practical instruction, make her a sought after presenter from coast to coast.
