After members have acquired knowledge of seamanship and piloting in the classroom, the squadron provides programs to improve navigational skills through actual practice on the water.

Each year the squadron has four Navigation Contests over a two-day period. Based on performance in the four contests, two annual awards are given-one for the best overall score, and one for the best score by a "novice" boat, which is defined as a boat that has not participated in at least three contests in previous years.

Each boat has a team of three: helmsman, navigator and timekeeper, and observers can ride along to learn by observing