History

Welcome to Kingston Power & Sail Squadron (KPS)

A division of Canadian Power & Sail Squadrons

The Kingston Power and Sail Squadron (KPS) is a division of the Canadian Power & Sail Squadrons (CPS-ECP) which is a nationwide non-profit organization of recreational sail and power boating enthusiasts. CPS had its beginnings in 1938 when it was founded as Canadian Power Squadrons and organized along the same lines as the United States Power Squadrons. It was incorporated in 1947.

In 2013, CPS-ECP celebrated its 75th Anniversary. It is recognized as the largest organization of its kind in Canada, and is accepted as this country’s foremost training authority in recreational boating matters. CPS currently has a membership of 20,000 and over the years more than 500,000 concerned boaters—men, women, and children—have successfully completed one or more CPS Boating Course.

 CPS is a non-profit organization and its administrative and training are conducted by CPS members as unpaid volunteers. Each year, CPS members teach a variety of courses to over 12,000 members of the general public across Canada. Many yacht clubs, recreational boating organizations, youth groups, local law enforcement agencies, and provincial and municipal authorities regularly request courses from CPS.

KPS was launched in 1952 in Kingston, a city well known for its fresh-water sailing and power boating. Kingston sits amid excellent boating territory, with easy access to Lake Ontario, the St. Lawrence River, the Rideau Canal, and the Thousand Islands including the St. Lawrence Islands National Park.  

CPS -ECP’s mission is help recreational boaters improve their boating safety knowledge as well as their vessel handling and navigation skills. The best reason to take a boating course, is the same reason most adults take any course: the better you are at something, the more you enjoy it. Our Students successfully complete a wide range of high-quality of boating courses and seminars which include the qualification for the Pleasure Craft Operator Card, the Restricted Maritime Radio Operator's Course, and elective courses such as distress signaling, navigating with GPS, Electronic Charting, RADAR for Pleasurecraft, celestial navigation, weather, extended cruising, marine maintenance, and many more. A complete list of on line courses can be found at www.boatingcourses.ca. KPS also fosters fellowship among its members and organizes annual networking and social events.

Each year, CPS members teach a variety of courses to the general public across Canada. Many yacht clubs, recreational boating organizations, youth groups, local law enforcement agencies, and provincial and municipal authorities regularly request courses from CPS. For its part, KPS has taught the rules of the waterways to hundreds of boaters.

Do you love boating? Do you want to see boaters happy to cruise our waterways, and have a passion for safety? KPS requires the volunteer commitment of members to become part of our squadron executive team. We try hard to match member skills and interests to volunteer activities. You may have the ability to write squadron news, network with the boating community, sell courses and memberships, and instruct courses, etc. We promise you a rewarding experience on a team with a little fun rolled in! With your help, we will be able to accomplish so much more for recreational boaters.

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, classroom courses around the squadrons had to temporarily stop operating. It is a great service to members that CPS-ECP has courses available on-line in various formats. KPS is planning to resume classroom instruction as soon as the COVID-19 pandemic situation allows it. Also scheduled to be resumed are the squadron’s Recreational Vessel Courtesy Checks in the Kingston area, in which qualified boating safety specialists are available to conduct on-the-water checks of the safety equipment as required by law.