Course Summary

At Shearwater University we are focused on continually refining the best practices in maritime, and the best educational practices to help all boaters master them.  Nowhere is this more true than in the close quarters of the marina, where even a light breeze or slight current can wreak havoc on on your best laid plans - not to mention the stronger conditions that regularly occur on the Salish Sea and anywhere there is air.  That is why this is a big focus for us.  

This online course was started in 2020 at the beginning of the pandemic, since we couldn’t help people on their boats.  By June 2020 we had high demand on the water again, so we shifted our online focus to the Navigation Essentials course.  

Your first lesson in this course - Mastering Docking Lines - is available now, and free.  After we have completed the Navigation series, we will finish building out the Docking Mastery course.  


Your Instructor

Captain Phyllis Woolwine

"Captain Wooly" is a master mariner with over 50 years of experience sailing, powerboating and kayaking in all parts of the Salish Sea, Inside Passage and SE Alaska. And as a professional educator with over 30 years teaching all kinds of adult and young adult learners, she knows how to ensure "no mariner left behind". Her effective instruction comes from both experience and deep educator training, including National Board Teacher Certification in Adolescent & Young Adult Science. A life-long learner, Phyllis's curriculum is continually improved and updated through ongoing professional development and best practices research. Captain Wooly has extensive experience training on sailboats and powerboats of all sizes and types, as well as kayaks.