logbook question

W

Way

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Not interesting and been covered a bit before but want to get this right. Here's my trip...

5th-19th July
15 days onboard
302 nm

My question really is; is that 15days on board?

3 days spent in Yarmouth fixing the engine. Perhaps 3 spent looking around alderney, sark, carteret....so not really onboard. Just interested really as the sightseeing does nothing for experience and happy to reduce days. Solving engine problems does but should I discount?

Just want accuracy ahead of any assessments

Sorry for a boring post!
 
We used to log "nights on board" ie a full 24 hr period, so some might log it as 14, and that's what I tend to do still - don't forget to put "Tidal" after 302nm. But certainly include the whole lot.
 
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To be honest, I don't think it matters all that much. There's so much variation in the type of sailing that people do, that days on board and miles sailed give only the very roughest of idea how much experience they have.

Crewing on an ocean passage, for example, will teach you practically nothing about navigation, or tides, or dealing with unusual kinds of berthing, but will give you loads of miles and night hours. Or someone might spend time pottering around the Channel Islands, getting loads of practice with pilotage, navigating in strong tidal streams, using drying harbours etc - but perhaps they never go out at night and have zero night hours in that column. Racing in the Solent will give yet a different kind of experience, and so on. My own voyages on square rigged sail-training vessels are officially eligible, so I have sea miles and night watch hours up the ying-yang, but it's taught me very little of relevance to yachts. On the other hand, I haven't bothered logging time in yachts since giving up the annual charter trips and getting our own boat - I have no particular interest in acquiring bits of paper so there seemed little point.

I have not heard of instructors and examiners being particularly picky about the exact definitions of hours and miles logged. Do whatever you feel happiest with.

Pete
 
I have a log book with nothing in it. Well not nothing my courses and certificates are in it but I have never logged a voyage.
I'm going to start. for my own interest.
I will just copy in the data from my boats log.
I keep it in two pages. one navigational data plus engine details fuel hrs ect.
The other more of a journal.
For a 14 day trip. (Have't done one yet) I would log the days sailing seperatly not just as a 14 day.
taken together you get a representation of my voyage's.
If I don't go anywhere I wouldnt include it.
If its just a short trip. I don't know, in the past I would have been to lazy to bother.

I don't know what RYA rules are or instructors opinions. Mine is a log book is meant to be accurate. By padding it I would just be deluding myself.
 
According to the instructions in the front of my RYA logbook (1980's vintage) a day on board is 24 consecutive hours living on board the vessel. A day is not invalidated by leaving the boat for a few hours during a cruise. The distance logged is distance sailed (or, I assume, motored) in tidal waters, in the open sea, outside natural or artificial harbours in which it would be possible to secure or anchor for an extended period. Night hours are hours on watch, at night.
 
Salty John said:
According to the instructions in the front of my RYA logbook (1980's vintage) a day on board is 24 consecutive hours living on board the vessel. A day is not invalidated by leaving the boat for a few hours during a cruise. The distance logged is distance sailed (or, I assume, motored) in tidal waters, in the open sea, outside natural or artificial harbours in which it would be possible to secure or anchor for an extended period. Night hours are hours on watch, at night.
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That's what I was going on. Interesting in the sense that as I alluded to, cycling around Alderney with the misses is really lovely but does nothing for experience. Whereas sat in Yarmouth fault-finding and fixing a Diesel, whilst not sailing, definitely does. I gues you go with instinct on this and make sure you could explain/justify to an examiner.
 
Way said:
That's what I was going on. Interesting in the sense that as I alluded to, cycling around Alderney with the misses is really lovely but does nothing for experience. Whereas sat in Yarmouth fault-finding and fixing a Diesel, whilst not sailing, definitely does. I gues you go with instinct on this and make sure you could explain/justify to an examiner.
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ps the modern logbooks say that too: "A day is not invalidated by leaving the boat for a few hours during a cruise."
 
I use mine as a reference for future passages. E.g. dept/arriv time, total time taken, route, engine hours, any fuel fill ups, weather conditions, tide times, and any peculiarities during the trip. It really helps to plan future passages but as I get more experienced I will put in less detail.
 
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Zagato said:
I use mine as a reference for future passages. E.g. dept/arriv time, total time taken, route, engine hours, any fuel fill ups, weather conditions, tide times, and any peculiarities during the trip. It really helps to plan future passages but as I get more experienced I will put in less detail.
Click to expand...

That'll be your ship's log though, presumably, rather than the RYA personal log? There isn't room for all that stuff in the RYA one!

Pete
 
Sorry for the mini-thread-hijack... However, this has made me wonder something...

Way said:
I gues you go with instinct on this and make sure you could explain/justify to an examiner.
Click to expand...
Do those chaps actually ask to look at your log-book? I only ask as I need to knock my YM on the head for professional purposes. However, I've never kept a personal log as I rack up so many miles and days with one thing and another that I couldn't be bothered... (I'd hazard a guess at 50k+, with over 10k in sailing yachts - most of it logged, but on ships and MYs, sailing's always been a hobby and a bit of fun, unencumbered with paperwork until now...)
 
skisimon said:
Sorry for the mini-thread-hijack... However, this has made me wonder something...

Do those chaps actually ask to look at your log-book? I only ask as I need to knock my YM on the head for professional purposes. However, I've never kept a personal log as I rack up so many miles and days with one thing and another that I couldn't be bothered... (I'd hazard a guess at 50k+, with over 10k in sailing yachts - most of it logged, but on ships and MYs, sailing's always been a hobby and a bit of fun, unencumbered with paperwork until now...)
Click to expand...

I sometimes look at people's log books - but only when they proudly present them to me. I would rather ascertain the validity of their miles and experience by talking to them about their yachting/boating. "So tell me about your sailing up to now..?" You can soon tell if someone is blagging. I will almost certainly have sailed in some of the areas they have and been to and so I will have first hand experience of many of the ports they claim they have sailed in and out of... (I admit that I once had an Australian candidate who has sailed in some places I hadn't visited myself!)
 
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