Passage Planning

[ribrage]

Yep! September - all the gory details on my site link below.
Didn't go round to Gijon, I heard that it was expensive!
I went East as far as Aviles - a great place, and cheap

Coming back is bit of a bummer

Gijon wasnt the cheapest - WAY cheaper and nicer than Santander- but it was a great place to visit

I missed Aviles, was getting a bit late and I wanted some winter sun !

 

[mattonthesea]

minotr additions

advance. R]

"The need for voyage and passage planning applies to all vessels."

"Passage planning or voyage planning is a procedure to develop a complete description of a vessel's voyage from start to finish. The plan includes leaving the dock and harbor area, the en route portion of a voyage, approaching the destination, and mooring, the industry term for this is 'berth to berth'. According to international law, a vessel's captain is legally responsible for passage planning."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passage_planning

The detailed voyage or passage plan should include the following factors:
.1 the plotting of the intended route or track of the voyage or passage on appropriate
scale charts: the true direction of the planned route or track should be indicated, as
well as all areas of danger, existing ships' routeing and reporting systems, vessel
traffic services, and any areas where marine environmental protection considerations
apply;
.2 the main elements to ensure safety of life at sea, safety and efficiency of navigation,
and protection of the marine environment during the intended voyage or passage;
such elements should include, but not be limited to:
.1 safe speed, having regard to the proximity of navigational hazards along the
intended route or track, the manoeuvring characteristics of the vessel and its
draught in relation to the available water depth;A 2/Res.893 - -
I:\ASSEMBLY\21\Res\893.doc
4
.2 necessary speed alterations en route, e.g., where there may be limitations
because of night passage, tidal restrictions, or allowance for the increase of
draught due to squat and heel effect when turning;
.3 minimum clearance required under the keel in critical areas with restricted
water depth;
.4 positions where a change in machinery status is required;
.5 course alteration points, taking into account the vessel's turning circle at the
planned speed and any expected effect of tidal streams and currents;
.6 the method and frequency of position fixing, including primary and secondary
options, and the indication of areas where accuracy of position fixing is
critical and where maximum reliability must be obtained;
.7 use of ships' routeing and reporting systems and vessel traffic services;
.8 considerations relating to the protection of the marine environment; and
.9 contingency plans for alternative action to place the vessel in deep water or
proceed to a port of refuge or safe anchorage in the event of any emergency
necessitating abandonment of the plan, taking into account existing
shore-based emergency response arrangements and equipment and the nature
of the cargo and of the emergency itself.
3.3 The details of the voyage or passage plan should be clearly marked and recorded, as
appropriate, on charts and in a voyage plan notebook or computer disk.
3.4 Each voyage or passage plan as well as the details of the plan, should be approved by the
ships' master prior to the commencement of the voyage or passage.

http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=24282&filename=893(21).PDF


OF course I do this every time

my boat does not have a captain so i leave all that to him / her !

most of what is written here is a question of risk assessment. We look at what is involved. including factors such as for familiarity, weather etc. then we decide level of detail required for each part of the passage. sometimes it needs to be done and written down in advance and other times it can be done in your head.

but it can only be done in your head if you are experienced, therefore novices should practice.

And your risk appetite will define whether you write it all down or you carry it all in your head .

 

[Skylark]

Surely the passage plan should also provide contingency for having the right anchor brand, pattern, size, material and scope for any combination of seabed and weather conditions that may be encountered

 

[[70521]]

Surely the passage plan should also provide contingency for having the right anchor brand, pattern, size, material and scope for any combination of seabed and weather conditions that may be encountered

If you want to add that then you would not be criticised in a MAIB report for not considering the correct anchor.

Personally, I prefer the unsalted anchor butter.

 

[Amulet]

I am a geek I guess. We are slow and do a passage plan with waypoints and time by which they must be reached in order to make it before the tide turns. If the computer keeps working (which it doesn't always) I like doing intermediate calculations under way. None of this particularly demonstrates good seamanship, just a kind of nerdy obsessive personality. Cherbourg to Weymouth I got the ETA within 11 minutes last time, but it means bugger all. When it's seasick weather and everything below is wet, the computer isn't working and everyone is knackered is the time to congratulate yourself for getting the nav right.

 

[bitbaltic]

Decision points & conditions. If there is a decision to be made about turning back or diverting, then if you write it down you'll probably stick to it.

e.g. 'At buoy X/waypoint Y if wind is over 20kts divert to B'

It can be so easy to keep going for too long because 'the conditions might ease...'

I think that's a really good tip.

To the OP, for coastal sailing in the Bristol channel the most important parts of our plan are always weather and height of tide for which we can use the rule of twelfths. I also make some effort to get a handle on tidal streams but as the course to steer is always best course to windward whatever you actually intend, some parts of the plan have to be flexible. Similarly for the journey time etc. I am a great believer in a written plan for every passage though. As we usually sail in familiar waters I am not so diligent as I should be regarding marks, if I had inexperienced crew or nonlocals I guess I would make a more clear statement of marks and Nav incase something happened to me and they did not know the pilotage to get home.

Cheers

Edited to add: gps waypoints are only used on compass roses to make quick and easy fixes on paper charts, we don't have a plotter and don't need one for local stuff. We do have avoidance points set on the most likely hazards.

 

[Resolution]

How well do you communicate your passage plan to your crew?
I always make some effort to work ahead tides, times and dodgy bits, but I am not sure I share enough of this with the crew.

 

[bitbaltic]

How well do you communicate your passage plan to your crew?
I always make some effort to work ahead tides, times and dodgy bits, but I am not sure I share enough of this with the crew.

+1 but that's where writing it down comes in in the worst case. Still the 'skippers briefing' is a very handy thing that I bet we all overlook if we know our crew well, especially so for shorthanded couples.

Cheers

 

[johnalison]

The passage plan is a well-guarded secret on our boat. The version which is made public will typically involve a sail with a beam wind of about four hours and no contrary tides, arriving at least two hours before the shops shut for the weekend. There is no likelihood of mechanical or navigational error and the charts/plotter can be fully relied on. Yes, there's plenty of fuel.

 

[Slow_boat]

The passage plan is a well-guarded secret on our boat. The version which is made public will typically involve a sail with a beam wind of about four hours and no contrary tides, arriving at least two hours before the shops shut for the weekend. There is no likelihood of mechanical or navigational error and the charts/plotter can be fully relied on. Yes, there's plenty of fuel.

And a spare gas bottle for the FB pies.

 

[LadyInBed]

How well do you communicate your passage plan to your crew?
I always make some effort to work ahead tides, times and dodgy bits, but I am not sure I share enough of this with the crew.

When I have someone with me I get them to do the planning (under as much guidance as required).
I hope it makes them feel involved.
When we get going I get the crew to steer and I act as crew, I find it much easier to demonstrate as I am useless at giving instructions.

 

[franksingleton]

My ritual includes taking a look at the weather for the next few days. Will I be able to move on or return? Will I be weather-bound? For how long? In my opinion, this is the best use of GRIBs. The trick is to know when they are giving good guidance for the next few days and when they are not.

We make a lot of use of WPs for hazard avoidance.

 

[westernman]

My ritual includes taking a look at the weather for the next few days. Will I be able to move on or return? Will I be weather-bound? For how long? In my opinion, this is the best use of GRIBs. The trick is to know when they are giving good guidance for the next few days and when they are not.

We make a lot of use of WPs for hazard avoidance.

I also use the gribs a lot. I also download them twice a day and look through 3 days worth and compare how the forecasts change from morning to afternoon to have an idea as to how much faith I can put in them.

Navigation is by eyeball - no need for anything complicated where I am.

I have never worked out how to put a way point into the autopilot. I have not had any need for the GPS except that the autopilot doesn't steer straight if it loses the signal for too long. I only get out the compass at night - so that I can keep an eye on the course and make sure the autopilot is not steering us in circles.

Passage planning is limited to where I would like to end up for the night, and other alternatives if we make less progress than forseen. If the wind is against us I will try and work out the whether I want to head well out from the coast or stay close in to make advantage of a wind shift later in the day.
However this clever strategy does not always work out as the wind shift always seems to be late in coming - or if it does come, the wind dies down and we end up motoring as it looks like we might end up being late for dinner in our favourite restaurant.

 

[SimonFa]

For me passage planning for me start as early as possible.

We're planing on taking Venezia towards the Channel Islands some time in June. Other than a mile builder to St Peter Port from Salcombe its my first visit. A consultation of the Shell Channel Pilot tells me that we should make the first trip in Neaps. So that's those dates in the diary.

Plan B will be Falmouth or Chichester.

No further planning until we get a it nearer the time and I have some idea of weather patterns and exact dates. Then its CTS, tide gates etc.

 

[duncan99210]

Passage planning on Rampage largely consists of a brief discussion of where we're going, followed by a look at the Grib files. If the wind's OK, then we set off, usually putting a waypoint in and pressing track once the sails are up and set. Oh, and to keep the jobsworths happy we write in the log "heading for where ever" - that's a passage plan isn't it?

 

[franksingleton]

I also use the gribs a lot. I also download them twice a day and look through 3 days worth and compare how the forecasts change from morning to afternoon to have an idea as to how much faith I can put in them.
..........

It does depend on the type of cruising that you are doing. We look at GRIBs on a rolling 8 day basis. Consistency in successive forecasts is a good indication that the models are on the right lines. Inconsistency is a good indication of uncertainty. There are occasions when the weather is less predictable than normal.

 

[BurnitBlue]

Just the weather forecast for me. And of course the proposed destination. All the rest are variables that are made insignificant or not depending on the weather and can be worked out en-route.

 

[pmagowan]

My gps works out the route like a car navigation system. I stick in where I want to go, it calculates route and draws a line on its chart. I check that I am happy with it, then off we go. I check tides and directions the night before and weather just before departure. The first part of a trip is normally the last part of the previous trip so there is loads of time for reading up and double checking things while under way. Our cruising speed is 5.5kn so there is always time en route to check out backup ports etc. but then I normally sail up the W Coast of Scotland so I have a good idea of where I am anyway. Often it is all done en route.

 

[Giblets]

Are the pubs going to be open??

More importantly - when do the pubs close! Most vital time of all for aleing & sailing planning. :encouragement:

 

[Malabar]

For me, passage planning is a must for even short trips. Around the Solent the courses & distances, and most of the pilotage are well known so do not go onto the form. Tides are the main item I record on the plan. At this time of year times of sunrise & sunset are significant. I also make a note of the main VHF channels, and the telephone numbers I will need on arrival. The weather I usually carry in my head. For longer passages then the charts come out. I do keep a voyage planning file that contains pilotage plans for all the likely destinations. Always useful to download the marina charts so that when instructed to berth in [d29] then you know where to go.