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Passage Planning - routeing |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 19:21 |
 Having a passage plan is not only both good seamanship and common sense, it's a legal requirement. A passage plan doesn't have to be a 50-page written document. But it should certainly be written down, not only to show that you have done your homework, but also to act as a reminder to yourself and as vital information for the crew, should you become incapacitated.
I use a plain A4 lined book for my log which I buy from the local stationers. I only rule in the columns just before I start a voyage, so the passage plan can be integrated into the log along with essential notes. I find that the commercially produced logs seem to try to include too much detail, which can be confusing.
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 January 2009 19:36 |
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Introduction to Passage Planning |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 19:18 |
It's one thing to be able to use transits, work your way back to safety in the fog, or understand the importance of depth contours for pilotage: but none of this is safe unless you have a passage plan to start with.
In fact, putting a passage plan together before starting your voyage is not only common sense and good sailing, it's a legal requirement under the Safety of Life at Sea, or SOLAS regulations. Regulation 34 applies to all vessels that put to sea, and states that:
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Last Updated on Monday, 05 January 2009 14:14 |
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Why I love Clearing Bearings |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 19:15 |
 Recently a friend pulled my leg about my insistence on the skipper always knowing where he is when in pilotage mode. “The trouble with you”, he grumbled, “is that you're often more worried about where you're not”.
He didn't just mean missing the pub, either, though that's one of the better known hazards of tidal yachting. He was referring to my love of clearing bearings. And he's right. I do love 'em.
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 January 2009 19:36 |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 19:13 |
 The one question that a good skipper always has running through his head (along with the question about whose turn it is to make the next cup of tea) is: “Where am I?”
Even if he thinks he knows, he needs to check regularly. Transits provide the best lines of position possible, and coupled with an accurate and trusted depth gauge, they give you a good fix. But there are some places where the sea bed is just, well, flat (and shallow as well). And where transits are few and far between. It's in these circumstances that lights, buoys and other marks come into play, and pilotage begins to look a little more like navigation.
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 January 2009 19:36 |
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Friday, 02 January 2009 19:10 |
Pilotage is perhaps the single most important skill for any competent skipper. The wind will blow you along fairly happily even if your sails are set like sacks, but get the tide wrong, or miss the south cardinal mark, or forget to read the depth, and you could be stuck, or worse.
After transits, my next most favourite pilotage indicator is the good old depth gauge. Set it up right, and it will tell you, hour after hour, month after month, exactly how much water you have under you. Know your draft, know the depth at low tide, and you can usually stay afloat. But first of all, you have to set it up right.
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Last Updated on Friday, 02 January 2009 19:35 |
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