The Martha’s Vineyard detachment of the Coast Guard Auxiliary will be offering a 10-week Boating Skills and Seamanship (BS&S) course beginning Wednesday, March 25. The course will meet weekly on Wednesdays from 6 to 8 p.m. through June 3 at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School.

The course will cover applicable many topics and techniques for recreational boaters, including choosing a boat, equipping a boat, legal considerations, trailering a boat, boat handling, aids to navigation, navigation rules, nautical charts and basic piloting, powering a boat, knots and lines, weather, marine radio and safety issues.

Upon satisfactory completion of the course, youths ages 12 to 15 years are eligible to apply for a license under the Massachusetts State Boating Regulations so they may legally operate a power boat alone.

Preregistration is required for admission. For more information and to sign up, call Chris Scott, auxiliary instructor, at 774-930-0921. The instruction is free, but there is a $50.00 fee to cover the textbooks, charts and materials used in the course.