Milford, Conn. ─ Take the Weekend Navigation and GPS Charting class and complete the practicals all on the same day in the same location at U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Milford Flotilla on Saturday, June 28, 2025, at 8 a.m. at its Training Center located at 1 Helwig Street, Milford, the location for all navigation and boating safety classes listed below.

For advance registration prior to the class date, go to http://a0142403.uscgaux.info/. You can sign up here for the Navigation course and pay by credit card online. After you register for the course, instructions for the Navigation course will be emailed to you. To pay at the door by check or cash, arrive at 7:30 a.m.

All students must obtain a State of Connecticut conservation ID number before taking the class. To register for a FREE ID number: go to https://ct.aspirafocus.com/internetsales

The Weekend Navigator and GPS course is designed to provide both a basic and advanced navigation course that includes the use of GPS and charts, parallel rulers, dividers and compass to ensure safety if your electronics go out. It provides students with the rudiments of navigation by using GPS along with the back-up skill of navigation using charts, plotting tools and dead reckoning. The intent is to provide the student with a solid foundation with emphasis on technique without a blind reliance on electronics. Family participation is encouraged. Cost is $70 per person.

In addition, Boat America boating safety classes are set on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to approximately 4:30 p.m. for July 12, August 9 and September 6. Cost is $70 per person.

For additional information about U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary courses, please call Dennis Belanger, public education officer, at 203-494-5219, email him at milfordflot073inc@gmail.com or visit http://a0142403.uscgaux.info/

For more information on U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary safe boating classes, please visit www.cgaux.org/boatinged/

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A brief history of the USCG Auxiliary

When the Coast Guard “Reserve” was authorized by act of Congress on June 23,1939, the Coast Guard was given a legislative mandate to use civilians to promote safety on and over the high seas and the nation’s navigable waters.

On Feb. 19, Congress amended the 1939 act with passage of the Auxiliary and Reserve Act of 1941. Passage of this act designated the Reserve as a military branch of the active service, while the civilian section, formerly referred to as the Coast Guard Reserve, became the Auxiliary under title 14, chapter 23 of the USC. Milford Flotilla was chartered on November 1, 1942 and celebrated its 70thanniversary in 2022. When we entered World War II, 50,000 Auxiliary members joined the war effort as military teams. Many of their private vessels were placed into service in an effort to protect the U.S. For the Milford Flotilla, it was the Connecticut shoreline on Long Island Sound. Semper Paratus – Always Ready!