If you are at Yachtmaster level or heading in that direction then you will no doubt be familiar with the requirements under SOLAS for passage planning.
In my experience, a lot is made of the legal requirement for passage planning on courses. If you are taking your YachtMaster practical you will be required to produce one for a relevant passage. Beyond that not much more is said but having made several cross channel and blue water passages, I think the end use of a good passage plan is often overlooked.
Passage Planning
If you are lucky your instructor will have outlined some of the requirements for passage planning and hopefully gone over APEM (Appraisal, Planning, Execution & Monitoring) with you. It is this last heading, Monitoring, that I will discuss here.
Once you have produced a plan what do you do with it? My standard question to students is “what next?” What are you going to do with all the information you have gleaned from any number of charts, almanacs, Admiralty lists, Google etc. and formulated into your plan?
The standard answer is “we pop it in a folder and refer to it if we have to.”
Now you may get away with that cruising around the Solent but (without being dramatic), for longer passages you will need to level up and use your plan to ensure you, your boat and crew make it safely to your destination.
This is where the Monitoring element of APEM comes in.
You will have spent a reasonable amount of time and effort prepping your plan and hopefully briefing your crew on it, however you should be closely monitoring your progress in accordance with said plan once you are on passage.
Passage making
So, lets look at elements we need to be checking and please remember all monitoring should be relative to the scale of passage being undertaken and the considerations included in your plan.
Ideally everything should be logged in some way to enable ongoing review and inform you on whether your plan stands or needs adapting to the circumstances.
[Note: Whilst there is no official requirement for pleasure craft to maintain an Official Log Book, it is good practice to do so and could be a deciding factor in any maritime investigation.]
Where are we? You should know where you are at any given moment (within reason). Any opportunities to log your position, course, speed, distance run, and depth should be taken, particularly if they provide an independent verification like three-point fixes, radar, depth or even celestial. Plot at regular intervals on your paper charts. Logging and plotting will tell you whether you are on track. Critical if making long distances. Use all the toys on your plotter, routes, waypoints, XTD/XTE, tidal vectors, AIS. Check the log entries and the plots on your charts.
How is the weather? Is it as expected? Use available forecasts – VHF, Radio, Internet, Coastguard, NCI, Met Office, Navtex. What is the Barometer doing? Log readings so pressure changes can be monitored. Lastly do not forget to look up. The Mk1 eyeball will be also able to spot changing weather, particularly squalls (use your radar for this at night).
Consumables? Presuming you started with the right amounts, are you using fuel, gas, food, water etc. in the quantity and rates expected? Often overlooked is the electricity we consume for plotters, radar, lights and charging numerous devices battery performance. Having had a few battery issues over the years it is worth watching and logging and setting clear voltage limits for recharging.
How’s the Crew? Crew wellbeing is vital. Checking in with people regularly can ensure everyone is fed, watered, rested, well and uninjured. Getting on top of personnel issues early can save a lot of grief down the line. Make sure watch systems are working and consider building in a “happy hour” for longer passages when everyone is up and about and socialising. Good morale is everything to passage making.
How’s the boat? Last but by no means least you need to make sure the boat is going to get you where you are going. Planned preventative maintenance schedules should be kept and routine checks made on the standing and running rigging (chafe is the constant enemy), sails, winches, bilges, engine, generators, water makers and anything else that may be critical in getting you where you are going. Rotating these routines with the crew / watches will also allow fresh eyes to spot issues and reduce the risk of things being overlooked. (It also keeps the crew busy!). Another vital area is keeping good hygiene standards throughout. Ensuring galley, heads, cabins, and communal areas are ship shape, clean and tidy will aid morale and maintain heath & safety.
Lastly, do not panic if anything is going awry. If you have caught it early you can deal with it. If that means amending your plan, changing destination, or bailing out to a port of refuge, so be it. That is seamanship.
As a light summary, one of my wife’s favourite quotes is “Fail to plan, plan to fail” while one of mine (as my wife will tell you), is; “No plan survives first contact with the enemy”, so we seem to have APEM pretty well covered when we go sailing together.
APEM can be considered to be a version of the Plan, Do, Review or Plan, Do, Check, Act framework.
Just remember, even on the best of days, with the most intricate planning, something may well try and trip you up at sea. On passage you need to know when and what is happening as soon as possible. That way it can be assessed and rectified with the least amount of effort.
Written by Alex Guerandel
Ocean Yachtmaster & Cruising Instructor
References.
- IMO Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention 1974, Chapter V Safety of Navigation, Regulation 34 Safe Navigation and Avoidance of Dangerous Situations.
- IMO Resolution A.893(21), Guidelines for Voyage Planning, adopted 25 November 1999.
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