How much planning do you do for an extended cruise?

[AndrewB]

If you don't plan, you don't go anywhere.

I think that's basically why people don't plan. Its nice to dream that all you need do is turn right and not stop until Madeira ... the Virgin Islands ... Galapagos ... Tahiti. At the end of the year though you're still just 200 miles from base but at least you're satisfied and have had a good time. Leave the non-planned epic voyages to Bernard Moitessier, Lesley Powles ... and next season.

 

[westhinder]

Planning for me is a matter of extensively reading pilot books, internet and general information, in order to get a good feel of the area you want to cruise in. And that's as far as I go. What you actually do when you get there, is dictated by the weather and other unforeseeable circumstances, so there's no point in detailed planning in advance.
That worked perfectly for me last year when I sailed around Britain. All crew changes arrangements were made on the basis that the crew came to where the boat happened to be. And looking back, I find that I visited many of my A-list of destinations. Not all of them of course, so there's a good reason for going back.

 

[LadyInBed]

Only have a broad plan of the area that I would to visit, I don't make a fixed start or return date. My failing is not stocking up with the tinned food and biscuits that I like.

 

[GHA]

For stops outside the EU, is it best to have visas in advance? Or are we welcome anywhere, like in colonial days? ;-)

Mike.

Mike.

Can't think of anywhere apart from the states where you need anything in advance.

Might be a few though.

 

[Talbot]

I will be leaving in June for a three month cruise. My Plan includes a rough date to leave, the first two stops, and the final destination where I will be leaving the boat. All other destinations will depend on the wind and karma.

 

[charles_reed]

How interesting.
I plan meticulously, whilst ashore during winter months.

In the past only the first few dates and stops have been adhered to before something more interesting causes an ever-increasing divergence.

Nowadays the divergence frequently occurs before the boat goes into the water as unexpected maintenance snags arise. It's a great discipline, but I always remember a lecturer positing that the hallmark of a good plan was how easily it could be amended to fit reality in the field.

PS Explanation - my cruises now are 4-6 months duration - having only 2-3 weeks, as many unfortunates on this forum probably have, concentrates the mind.

 

[jdc]

Can't think of anywhere apart from the states where you need anything in advance.

Might be a few though.

Some places you need advance permission to visit, although not a matter of visas. Svalbard, parts of Greenland, S Georgia or Antarctica for instance.

 

[GrahamM376]

If heading south into the Med, boat preparation is an important part of the plan as you need to keep cool so think about awning or bimini. Passage wise, in the days when there were time constraints, we always used to plan on getting to furthest destination as fast as possible and then doing the shorter hops on the way back. We could then miss out a couple of places to make up time if we got held up by bad weather.

 

[LadyInBed]

If heading south into the Med, boat preparation is an important part of the plan as you need to keep cool so think about awning or bimini.

I tend to keep boat prep as a seperate item, it is preped the same for a week or six months.

Passage wise, in the days when there were time constraints, we always used to plan on getting to furthest destination as fast as possible and then doing the shorter hops on the way back. We could then miss out a couple of places to make up time if we got held up by bad weather.

That is always my intention, but I seem to fail miserably!
If there are lots of places to visit I leapfrog, then see what I missed on the way out on the way back. Otherwise I get two bites of the cherry but miss out the places not worth a revisit.
Ofcourse, a lot depends on whether you have visited the area in previous years or it is totally new territory.

 

[Sans Bateau]

If we are going across the channel, so including France then planning is limited. If we are heading west then a little more thought is needed. For instance, in 2011 when we went to Scilly, I had to work out how many days we'd be away so how many bottles of red I might need, but also taking a guess how many whites or roses might be needed if it were warm or even hot. As it is the reds were enough.

 

[tcm]

The fewer different and especially new places you want to visit (ie returning to same marina berth is easiest) , the less distance you need to travel (just out into the bay for a few days means no passage plans, less safety gear, less maintenance needed) and the fewer people on board (no coordinating with arrivals/departures ) ... then the fewer plans you need to make.

At the extremes, this means that staying in the same familiar place, at anchor or on a mooring, on your own, in a year-round benign spot ... needs zero plans. Goin to lots of places in a short time with different people joining or leaving needs more planning. Obvious really.

Incidentally, I don't count planning as only the "set in stone" type of planning such as is needed to connect from one flight to another and an other - planning is also provisionally booking a marina berth (and you are too late for some in the med this season) and finding other possible candidates for if stuff happens. it's carrying spares so that the unexpected doesn't mean Game Over. That's enough preaching from me...

 

[Resolution]

Nostro
We are planning to pass through your area this summer, en route from mainland Spain in May to Turkey in September. As we will be sailing in company with a handful of yachts from my club, we have to have a framework. So we have identified six ports at which we plan to rendezvous on specific dates, in between each of us is free to go at our own speed. Or even to park up and go back to do some work! The framework is also vital for crew changeovers - I have over twenty different friends scheduled to help crew on the way.
All this is so pre-planned that things are bound to go wrong, just as they did last year when we went to the Baltic. So plans B and C are lurking quietly in the back of the file. Last year's plan C was superbly enjoyable.
I keep being told by friends that I enjoy the planning as much as the sailing itself, and maybe there is some truth in that. Certainly there has been a lot of fun in reading the almanacs, following loads of blogs, and a few other travel advisers in order to select our Plan A route.
And a blog such as yours, Nostro, provides entertainment as well as info. Keep it going!
Peter