CARIS trainers recently completed a round of pre-season training courses with NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey in preparation for new challenges and survey objectives in the coming field season. Advanced training courses were led by Karen Hart, Burns Foster, and Tami Beduhn at the Pacific and Atlantic Hydrographic Branches in Seattle, WA and Norfolk, VA. Josh Mode and Tami conducted introductory training to a large group of NOAA's newest hydrographers at the U.S. Coast Guard Training center in Yorktown, VA. The purpose of the training was to update NOAA Hydrographers with the latest advances in HIPS and SIPS 9.0 and BASE Editor 4.1.

The training included reviews of sidescan and multibeam processing workflows, personalized object catalogues, advances in feature mapping and management in CARIS products, as well as an introduction to cartographic toolsets. The advanced courses consisted of hands-on exercises along with time for questions and discussion of the survey processing pipeline. Karen and Burns also conducted a two day workshop on Bathy DataBASE (BDB) Server in Seattle to help facilitate the setup of a new test server. The Pacific Hydrographic Branch is hoping to use BDB Server to produce and maintain a suite of high precision navigation products for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The introduction to HIPS and SIPS and BASE Editor training concluded NOAA’s four week Basic Hydrographic Training Course in Yorktown. Students were led through exercises, which wrapped up with a set of self-paced modules designed to test their new skills. Despite a late season snow storm, which closed the base during the final days of the course, classes continued and students still received a visit from Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, Director of Coast Survey. The Admiral discussed the future of hydrography and expressed the importance of training to ensure quality data delivered on time for the creation of relevant products for public use. As master of ceremonies Admiral Glang awarded course completion certificates and wished students well for a successful survey season.