Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons
Encyclopedia
Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons / Escadrille canadiennes de plaisance (CPS-ECP) has been connecting enthusiastic recreational boaters
across Canada
for 70 years and has played a major role in boating culture in Canada. CPS offers boating safety courses every year to recreational boaters, as well as providing qualification for the Pleasure Craft Operator Card
(PCOC), which all recreational boaters in Canada require in order to legally operate their vessels. CPS is a charitable organization with more than 32,000 active members. Its volunteer
instructors help recreational boaters improve their boating safety knowledge as well as their vessel handling and navigation skills.
, Ontario
in 1938 when a group of boaters traveled to the Detroit Power Squadron to take the United States Power Squadrons
Coastal Navigation Course. Upon their successful completion of the course, they formed the Windsor Power Squadron, closely followed by the formation of Squadrons in Sarnia
, London
and Toronto. With growth throughout the past 70 years, CPS now has 166http://www.cps-ecp.ca/?WCE=C=47|K=224727 Squadrons from coast to coast in all provinces and the Yukon Territory. CPS was incorporated
in 1947, and in 1985 changed its name to Canadian Power & Sail Squadrons, which reflects the fact that almost half of its membership are sailors. At that time, the French
name, Escadrilles canadiennes de plaisance was formally adopted.
. There are more than 4,000 members who volunteer their time for CPS to help promote the Boating and PCOC courses to the general public, as well as providing various services for the membership. A majority of the volunteers are involved in the training aspect of the organization, developing and writing courses and instructing in classrooms across Canada throughout the year.
Members of the public who successfully complete either the CPS Boating Course (called Piloting until 1972) or the CPS PCOC Course become members of the organization. Full members are then permitted to fly the CPS flag on their vessels and receive six issues of Canadian Yachting magazine
, four of which contain the member publication, The Port Hole. In Quebec, members receive four issues of L’Escale Nautique magazine, which contain the French member publication, Le Hublot. The members also have the opportunity to take a number of advanced and elective courses. Throughout the years a number of member benefits have been developed, including the opportunity to purchase an extensive CPS Members Insurance policy, which offers a discount based on the courses members have taken. Member benefits can more than offset membership dues.
courses, which are open to both members and the public alike. These include topics such as Fundamentals of Weather
, Global Weather, Marine Maintenance, Distress Signaling, Extended Cruising, Maritime Radio, and Seamanship
Sail. There are also a number of electronic courses including, Finding Your Way With GPS
, Navigating
with GPS, Electronic Charting, Radar
for Pleasure Craft, and Depth Sounder. CPS is constantly updating and developing courses for recreational boaters throughout Canada.
Boaters may also go to the CPS Distance Education Centre and sign up for instruction on the use of a marine radio
, which leads to a Restricted Maritime Radio Operator’s Certificate. The certificate is required by law in Canada for use of any marine radio installed on a vessel. CPS is the exclusive provider of the Restricted Maritime Radio Operator’s Course on behalf of the Canadian Government.
Advanced courses offered by CPS include Seamanship (formerly called Piloting), which prepares boaters for travel on Canada’s great lakes. Advance Piloting delves into subjects that include more information on tides and currents to prepare boaters for ocean
travel. There is also a Celestial Navigation
Course for instruction in navigating by the stars. For the volunteers who serve the organization, CPS offers Officer Training and Instructor Development programs. Many of the courses offered by CPS enhance members’ expertise in their private lives as well.
, public relations
, marine reporting, environmental issues, publications, communications, conferences and meetings, development of Port Captains
, membership, and other areas.
CPS holds a National Conference, rotating to a different region in Canada each year, at which it recognizes its various partners, offers a variety of seminar
s on new developments, rewards its volunteers, and gives members a chance to do what boaters do best, socialize and share boating stories. Through CPS many long-standing friendships have developed among members from across Canada.
CPS has a Headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where paid staff help the volunteers in all aspects of running the organization
, which has resulted in a number of changes within the organization to enhance its public image and to encourage people to take CPS courses and join the organization. CPS has improved its ability to update courses on a regular basis to meet current standards, and most courses now include CD’s
as part of the training material received by a student.
Over the past few years, CPS developed a number of partnerships with like-minded organizations such as ICOM, MariTech, Weems & Plath, Satellite Communications Source Inc., Canadian Yachting Association
, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), United States Power Squadrons
, and others, to the mutual benefit of each organization. This has provided the opportunity for sharing resources, offering more member benefits, and providing specific rewards for volunteers.
CPS works closely with Government agencies such as Transport Canada
and the Office of Boating Safety
in order to meet the highest standards and to provide one of the best PCOC programs available across Canada and the only card recognized by the United States National Association of State Law Administrators (NASBLA), as well as developing an extensive Pleasure Craft
Courtesy Check (PCCC) program in all regions of Canada.
As CPS continues to change and grow, the organization will strive to ensure that it increases awareness and knowledge of safe boating by educating and training members and the general public, by fostering fellowship among members and by establishing partnerships and alliances with organizations and agencies interested in boating.
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
across Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
for 70 years and has played a major role in boating culture in Canada. CPS offers boating safety courses every year to recreational boaters, as well as providing qualification for the Pleasure Craft Operator Card
Pleasure Craft Operator Card
The which fall within the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 require operators of pleasure craft in Canada, fitted with a motor and used for recreational purposes, to have proof of competency on board with them at all times. The regulation applies to sailboats that are fitted with auxiliary motors and to...
(PCOC), which all recreational boaters in Canada require in order to legally operate their vessels. CPS is a charitable organization with more than 32,000 active members. Its volunteer
Volunteering
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity, intended to promote good or improve human quality of life, but people also volunteer for their own skill development, to meet others, to make contacts for possible employment, to have fun, and a variety of other reasons that could be...
instructors help recreational boaters improve their boating safety knowledge as well as their vessel handling and navigation skills.
History
Canadian Power Squadron was founded in WindsorWindsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1938 when a group of boaters traveled to the Detroit Power Squadron to take the United States Power Squadrons
United States Power Squadrons
The United States Power Squadrons is a non-profit educational organization, founded in 1914, whose mission is to improve maritime safety and enjoyability through classes in seamanship, navigation, and other related subjects. The USPS comprises approximately 45,000 members organized into 450...
Coastal Navigation Course. Upon their successful completion of the course, they formed the Windsor Power Squadron, closely followed by the formation of Squadrons in Sarnia
Sarnia, Ontario
Sarnia is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada . It is the largest city on Lake Huron and is located where the upper Great Lakes empty into the St. Clair River....
, London
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
and Toronto. With growth throughout the past 70 years, CPS now has 166http://www.cps-ecp.ca/?WCE=C=47|K=224727 Squadrons from coast to coast in all provinces and the Yukon Territory. CPS was incorporated
Incorporation (business)
Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...
in 1947, and in 1985 changed its name to Canadian Power & Sail Squadrons, which reflects the fact that almost half of its membership are sailors. At that time, the French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
name, Escadrilles canadiennes de plaisance was formally adopted.
Membership
Membership in CPS is more than 32,000 with approximately 5,000 of those members residing in QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. There are more than 4,000 members who volunteer their time for CPS to help promote the Boating and PCOC courses to the general public, as well as providing various services for the membership. A majority of the volunteers are involved in the training aspect of the organization, developing and writing courses and instructing in classrooms across Canada throughout the year.
Members of the public who successfully complete either the CPS Boating Course (called Piloting until 1972) or the CPS PCOC Course become members of the organization. Full members are then permitted to fly the CPS flag on their vessels and receive six issues of Canadian Yachting magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
, four of which contain the member publication, The Port Hole. In Quebec, members receive four issues of L’Escale Nautique magazine, which contain the French member publication, Le Hublot. The members also have the opportunity to take a number of advanced and elective courses. Throughout the years a number of member benefits have been developed, including the opportunity to purchase an extensive CPS Members Insurance policy, which offers a discount based on the courses members have taken. Member benefits can more than offset membership dues.
Courses
Along with the CPS Boating Course and the CPS PCOC Course, there are a number of electiveChoice
Choice consists of the mental process of judging the merits of multiple options and selecting one of them. While a choice can be made between imagined options , often a choice is made between real options, and followed by the corresponding action...
courses, which are open to both members and the public alike. These include topics such as Fundamentals of Weather
Weather
Weather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
, Global Weather, Marine Maintenance, Distress Signaling, Extended Cruising, Maritime Radio, and Seamanship
Seamanship
Seamanship is the art of operating a ship or boat.It involves a knowledge of a variety of topics and development of specialised skills including: navigation and international maritime law; weather, meteorology and forecasting; watchstanding; ship-handling and small boat handling; operation of deck...
Sail. There are also a number of electronic courses including, Finding Your Way With GPS
Global Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
, Navigating
Navigation
Navigation is the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks...
with GPS, Electronic Charting, Radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
for Pleasure Craft, and Depth Sounder. CPS is constantly updating and developing courses for recreational boaters throughout Canada.
Boaters may also go to the CPS Distance Education Centre and sign up for instruction on the use of a marine radio
Marine VHF radio
Marine VHF radio is installed on all large ships and most seagoing small craft. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, including summoning rescue services and communicating with harbours, locks, bridges and marinas, and operates in the VHF frequency range, between 156 to 174 MHz...
, which leads to a Restricted Maritime Radio Operator’s Certificate. The certificate is required by law in Canada for use of any marine radio installed on a vessel. CPS is the exclusive provider of the Restricted Maritime Radio Operator’s Course on behalf of the Canadian Government.
Advanced courses offered by CPS include Seamanship (formerly called Piloting), which prepares boaters for travel on Canada’s great lakes. Advance Piloting delves into subjects that include more information on tides and currents to prepare boaters for ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
travel. There is also a Celestial Navigation
Celestial Navigation
"Celestial Navigation" is the 15th episode of The West Wing.-Plot:Sam and Toby have to go to Connecticut to get the President's Supreme Court nominee, Roberto Mendoza, out of jail after he is wrongfully arrested on suspicion of drunk driving...
Course for instruction in navigating by the stars. For the volunteers who serve the organization, CPS offers Officer Training and Instructor Development programs. Many of the courses offered by CPS enhance members’ expertise in their private lives as well.
Organization
CPS offers its members volunteer opportunities such as instructing or proctoring local classes or taking a position on the Squadron Executive Committee. Members can also volunteer at the District and National level by serving on a variety of committees, which are responsible for trainingTraining
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...
, public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
, marine reporting, environmental issues, publications, communications, conferences and meetings, development of Port Captains
Captain of the Port
The Captain of the Port is an official who has different functions in the United Kingdom and the United States.-United Kingdom:In the Royal Navy, the Captain of the Port is the officer, usually with the rank of Captain, responsible for the day-to-day running of a Naval Dockyard under the authority...
, membership, and other areas.
CPS holds a National Conference, rotating to a different region in Canada each year, at which it recognizes its various partners, offers a variety of seminar
Seminar
Seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is...
s on new developments, rewards its volunteers, and gives members a chance to do what boaters do best, socialize and share boating stories. Through CPS many long-standing friendships have developed among members from across Canada.
CPS has a Headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where paid staff help the volunteers in all aspects of running the organization
Looking to the Future
In October 2005, CPS passed a five-year Strategic PlanStrategic planning
Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy. In order to determine the direction of the organization, it is necessary to understand its current position and the possible avenues...
, which has resulted in a number of changes within the organization to enhance its public image and to encourage people to take CPS courses and join the organization. CPS has improved its ability to update courses on a regular basis to meet current standards, and most courses now include CD’s
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
as part of the training material received by a student.
Over the past few years, CPS developed a number of partnerships with like-minded organizations such as ICOM, MariTech, Weems & Plath, Satellite Communications Source Inc., Canadian Yachting Association
Canadian Yachting Association
The Canadian Yachting Association is Canada's organization for controlling the water.CYA is a "Member National Authority" of the International Sailing Federation . Organization of sailing in Canada is divided into four groups, Yacht Clubs, Provincial Sailing Associations, Class Associations, and...
, National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), United States Power Squadrons
United States Power Squadrons
The United States Power Squadrons is a non-profit educational organization, founded in 1914, whose mission is to improve maritime safety and enjoyability through classes in seamanship, navigation, and other related subjects. The USPS comprises approximately 45,000 members organized into 450...
, and others, to the mutual benefit of each organization. This has provided the opportunity for sharing resources, offering more member benefits, and providing specific rewards for volunteers.
CPS works closely with Government agencies such as Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
and the Office of Boating Safety
Office of Boating Safety
The Office of Boating Safety is Transport Canada's division which concerns itself with pleasure craft and marine recreation. The OBS delivers prevention-based programs to reduce the safety risks and environmental impacts of boating on Canadian waters....
in order to meet the highest standards and to provide one of the best PCOC programs available across Canada and the only card recognized by the United States National Association of State Law Administrators (NASBLA), as well as developing an extensive Pleasure Craft
Pleasure craft
A pleasure craft is a boat used for personal, family, and sometimes sportsmanlike recreation. Typically such watercraft are motorized and are used for holidays, for example on a river, lake, canal or waterway. Pleasure craft are normally kept at a marina...
Courtesy Check (PCCC) program in all regions of Canada.
As CPS continues to change and grow, the organization will strive to ensure that it increases awareness and knowledge of safe boating by educating and training members and the general public, by fostering fellowship among members and by establishing partnerships and alliances with organizations and agencies interested in boating.