Keeping a log.

[Two_Hapence]

Hi,

Out of pure idle curiosity -

Does anyone that navigates in the Solent in good conditions actually go below every hour to fill in the log? Does every course change get entered?

Go on - be honest!

Regards



Ian

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[tony_brighton]

certainly not - nor are you required to.

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[l'escargot]

I don't, why would I want to?

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[VicS]

It is nice though to keep some sort of record of where you've been, what the weather's been like, who's been in the crew, people you've met, decent meals, engine running hours etc. if only to look back at during the winter or in old age!



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[Johnjo]

Yeh we do the same, more of a ships diary than a log,
nice to be able to look back and remember the good times on those long winter nights!..

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[l'escargot]

Maybe, but that wasn't the question.

A typical hourly log on a short journey might read:
0800, Left Newport, 0 degrees, Good Vis, speed 4.5 knots, 1010mb,
0900, Cowes entrance, 270 degrees, Good Vis, speed 4.5 knots, 1010mb, 1 engine hour
1000, Lymington entrance, 0 degrees, Good Vis, speed 4.5 knots, 1010mb
1100, Town Quay, Berthed, Lots of people eating chips and watching us tie up, Nice day, Family still on board but not talking to me, 1 engine hour.

I know televisions rubbish most nights, but it's hardly going to while away a winters evening or my twilight years.

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[Sybarite]

In France you are required to. Basically I think it for tax reasons to see how much time was spent in territorial waters. I just enter home base and the port visited and add "navigation by sight". If I go out of sight of land then I give course, speed, weather conditions, GPS readings etc but then I believe this is only sensible. Once I was just heading round a point from one bay to the next. Rounding it I came into an unforeseen fog at the same time as the wind got up. I was in an area with several off-lying rocks. It was a salutary lesson about always knowing where you are.

John

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[Johnjo]

Thanks for the info.
Always wondered what a log was for on a boat and now Iv been told.
again many thanks !........

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[Two_Hapence]

Hi,

I suffered from a military introduction to sailing and in consequence used to note everything in the log. A fair log, who's in the crew and which pub was favourite is one thing and very commendable - but I thought the new SOLAS regs required us to prove that we had a passage plan in operation - or is the Solent exempt as it can be considered to be a big harbour?

Regards



Ian

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[LadyInBed]

In a way, it goes something like -

08:00 Left Folly
08:30 Cowes
12:00 Hurst Pt
12:30 N Head buoy

Then I start doing it proper!

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[l'escargot]

This was done to death a while back, basically
1 Yes, the Solent is exempt.
2 A log isn't a passage plan.
3 There is no requirement to write a passage plan down.
4 A lot of the other stuff depends on the size of your boat and when it was built.

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[LORDNELSON]

Not hourly! But I do keep a log of all my boat movements if it only records who the crew were, dates/times of leaving/arriving. Engine hours (for service and consumption figures); wind force and direction and boat speed. The log figures for mileage at start and end of each trip (I like to know how far I have sailed each year). It is suprising how often I find I have to refer back to the log - for example where I took friends on a previous trip so we don't repeat it. Note my diary only contains appointments so I find the log useful. I also feel it is good in case one runs into problems with the authorities or insurance. Not nearly as detailed a log as when out of site of land

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[charles_reed]

Automate.

My chartplotter does it for me - position, log, speed by log, SOG, COG, wind-speed and direction.
Saves the awful gap - left... arrived .. which used to be the situation if conditions were a bit brisk. (I'm a martyr to sea-sickness and the log was usually the most effective trigger to hailing Hooey underwater).
I keep a rough log on squared paper for such things as baro pressure, near misses by Porto Cervo nitwits and motor usage.

But then I don't sail in the Solent - far too crowded, confined and cold.

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[BalmainBug]

I tend to keep a log until we hit the next marina, but if you'd seen the size of the heads in my boat you'd know why.

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[MIKE_MCKIE]

Of far more importance than keeping a log is keeping a position. As almost every seafarer knows (or finds out the hard way) Paddys Law & the Met Office work at opposite ends of the spectrum! Fog, mist, falling snow, heavy rainstorms & any other condition similiarly effecting visibility (quote from Nautical college over 40 years ago) can & invariably will conspire with Paddy to bugger up your nice enjoyable swan around your chosen area. Never mind that you write down a nice little list of where you have been, you MUST KNOW WHERE YOU ARE!!
As a recent new owner of an old sailing boat, I have all the usual like DSC, GPS, modern log, E/S, Fluxgate compass etc etc, but the most used item is the Yeoman plotter. Admittedly it is linked to the GPS, but I plot a position ON THE CHART every 15 minutes without fail. Then if Paddy does strike & all the electrics fail, Fog closes in, whatever, at least I have a recent fix (not an E/P, D/R or anything, but a FIX) Using the plotter takes about 30 seconds to plot a fix, so keeping a good lookout is not compromised, and having done the tidal stream atlas prior to departure, if all else fails, at least you are in good shape to get back to base in a safe & seamanlike manner.
While a well written log can be a source of good reading, and reminiscing during the winter layoff, it is only really relevant if you are actually there to enjoy it. I know that the statistics are very encouraging about leisure boating safety, but having been a pro seafarer since 1959 (and sailing a 10 years before that) I am all too aware that disaster tends to strike when least expected & in the unlikeliest of ways. The sea is a very harsh & unforgiving environment & will rise up & bite you in the arse just as you are enjoying the first G&T of the day!!! Keep a log by all means, but never ever forget to fix your position frequently as well.
Miserable old git
Mike

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[wiggy]

I sail in the solent and have never filled in a log, usually too busy avoiding power boats doing 40 knots with a G&T in one hand.

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[l'escargot]

A lot of the comments here are correct and applicable to passage making and in those circumstances ignore them at your peril. However, I would say under the circumstances originally given, i.e. in The Solent and in good conditions, if you have a general awareness of where you are and are concious of any signs of those conditions changing, you can get to a safe position before the changes arrive, or start planning/plotting accordingly. In 0ver 30 years of boating in The Solent I have never known conditions go from "good" to "bad" intantly.
It's all about assessing risks and probability. Today for example, The Solent is sat underneath a high pressure and the outlook is settled. the only slight risk before teatime is maybe a bit of high cloud. If I was setting out on a 2 or 3 hour journey, I would enjoy the trip and wouldn't be distracted by 15 minute plots as they would be superfluous.

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[Peppermint]

Re: Not me

Why would you?

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[DeeGee]

Re: Not me

To engender good habits, perhaps? That is, if you believe in logs at all.

When I drive on a long trip, to somewhere unknown, I use my road atlas (read charts) and my GPS, to determine where I am if I am unsure - and, of course, I have my spare GPS. Why would I want to keep writing stuff down? Maybe there is no case for a log at all - ever?


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[Birdseye]

Course not. Dont have time between radio checks, old man!

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